Vietnamese, Lao Prime Ministers hold talks in Vientiane

Vientiane (VNA) – Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandone in Vientiane on January 11, during which the two leaders discussed measures to further promote ties between the two countries in all fields.

PM Chinh conveyed Vietnamese Party and leaders’ regards to the Lao PM, and expressed gratitude to the Party, State and people of Laos for their loyal, pure sentiments and wholehearted support and assistance to Vietnam.

Congratulating Laos on the positive results that the country has gained in controlling COVID-19 and boosting socio-economic recovery, PM Chinh said he believed that under the leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and the efforts of the Lao Government led by PM Sonexay, Laos will overcome difficulties and continue to successfully implement its 9th socio-economic development plan and the Resolution of the 11th LPRP National Congress.

PM Sonexay underlined the significance of his Vietnamese counterpart’s visit, noting that PM Chinh is the first foreign leader to visit Laos in 2023, and right after he took office as the leader of the Lao Government.

He thanked Vietnam for the sincere support and impartial assistance that Vietnam has given Laos in the past struggle for national independence and current process of national construction, defence and development. He also spoke highly of Vietnam’s achievements in stamping out COVID-19, boosting post-pandemic economic recovery and development, and clinching higher role and position in the world arena.

The two PMs affirmed the consistent policy of the two Parties and States towards each other, and agreed to give the highest priority to the reinforcement and development of the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation.

They shared delight at the progress and stability of the bilateral cooperation over all areas over the years, with deepening political trust, numerous delegation exchanges at all levels and through all channels, optimised bilateral collaboration mechanisms and hundreds of successful joint activities in the Vietnam-Laos, Laos-Vietnam Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022 in both countries.

Particularly, bilateral economic, trade and investment ties have been strengthened in the right direction, they said. Last year, Vietnamese businesses invested in five new projects and injected more capital to four existing projects with combined investment of 70 million USD, up nearly 50% from 2021. In 2022, two-way trade rose over 21% to nearly 1.7 billion USD, exceeding the set target.

The two PMs agreed that in the time to come, they will work closely together to implement the Vietnam-Laos cooperation strategy for the 2021-2030 period, and the bilateral collaboration agreement for the 2021-2025 period as well as other signed deals in all fields, while increasing all-level delegation exchanges to foster bilateral political ties.

They will step up the theory exchange, while coordinating in ensuring security, social order and safety and promoting security-defense cooperation.

Vietnam and Laos will continue to bolster economic partnership, supporting each other in post-pandemic recovery, socialist-oriented market economy building, and international integration.

The two PMs agreed to continue to maintain two-way trade growth of at least 10-15% each year.

The two sides will continue to improve their business and investment environments and strengthen the connectivity of the two economies, including in hard and soft infrastructure connections.

They also agreed to continue expanding investment partnership, with focus on projects in border localities, while enhancing the effectiveness of cooperation in justice, science-technology, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges as well as cooperation among localities, especially those along the shared border.

They pledged to continue to collaborate closely in the fields of information and communications, concentrating on educating the youth of the two countries on the tradition of the Vietnam-Laos special ties, and paying greater attention to cooperation in education-training, especially the training of public officials at all levels.

Regarding regional and international issues of shared concern, the two sides agreed to foster their coordination, information exchange and mutual support at regional and international multilateral forums, especially the UN and ASEAN, as well as sub-regional cooperation mechanisms. They will work together and with other ASEAN countries to maintain ASEAN’s intra-bloc solidarity and central role, while maintaining the bloc's common standpoints on strategic matters, including the East Sea issue.

Vietnam is ready to assist Laos to perform international tasks in the time to come, including the role as the Chair of ASEAN and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in 2024, PM Chinh affirmed.

Following the talks, the two PMs witnessed the signing of 10 cooperation agreements in various fields, including digital partnership, mutual civil judicial support, education-training, waterway transport, finance, and diplomacy.

Vietnam’s central Quang Tri province and Champasak province of Laos also signed a framework agreement on the establishment of friendly cooperation ties.

PM Chinh also took this occasion to invite his Lao counterpart to visit Vietnam at an early date, and the Lao leader accepted the invitation with pleasure./.