Hanoi (VNA) – The upcoming state visit to Laos by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam is expected to help redefine the landscape of cooperation and development between Vietnam and Laos in a new period, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong.
According to the Deputy Foreign Minister, the visit will take place on February 5 at the invitation of Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of Laos. It is of great significance to the special relationship between Vietnam and Laos, especially in shaping the landscape of cooperation and development between the two countries in the new period.
In this context, the fact that General Secretary To Lam and the high-level delegation of the Party and State of Vietnam chose Laos as the first country to visit in the new term – the first state visit that Laos received immediately after its 12th National Party Congress, and just over a week after Vietnam welcomed the Party General Secretary and President of Laos as well as the first foreign head of state to visit Vietnam immediately after the 14th National Party Congress – carries profound political significance, reflecting the high priority and special importance Vietnam attaches to bilateral relationship.
During the visit, General Secretary To Lam will hold talks and meetings with senior Lao leaders to review bilateral cooperation, exchange views on the situation in each country, and agree on major orientations for the ties in the new development phase. A number of cooperation documents between ministries, sectors and localities of the two sides are also expected to be signed, creating a fresh momentum and a stronger legal framework for deeper and more effective cooperation.
The diplomat said that a major focus of the visit will be the further concretisation of the two countries’ strategic linkage, a concept agreed upon by the two Party leaders in late 2025 to elevate the bilateral framework to a new level, encompassing development, security and international integration.
Looking at recent achievements, he highlighted the steady expansion of political trust and coordination, which continues to serve as the backbone of bilateral relations. Defence and security cooperation has been strengthened, helping maintain political stability and border security, while joint mechanisms for border management, information sharing, training and crime prevention have been operating effectively.
A key highlight of the visit, both sides will focus on further concretising the concept of "strategic cohession"—which General Secretary To Lam and General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith agreed to add to the framework of bilateral relations in December 2025 to elevate it to a new level. This is not only an affirmation at the political and diplomatic level, but also a direction for action aimed at enhancing the level of strategic interconnectedness and mutual support between the two countries in development, security, and integration.
Economic, trade and investment cooperation has also recorded notable progress. Bilateral trade surpassed 3 billion USD in 2025 for the first time, while Vietnam’s investment in Laos rose sharply to more than 5.6 billion USD, bringing total registered capital to over 6.2 billion USD across 276 projects, keeping Vietnam among Laos’s leading foreign investors.
Meanwhile, cooperation in education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges has continued to deepen, with Vietnam providing thousands of scholarships annually for Lao students and welcoming tens of thousands of Lao trainees and students, helping develop long-term human resources and enduring links between the two nations.
Cuong expressed confidence that the upcoming visit will become a significant political milestone, creating new momentum and opening a new phase of development for Vietnam-Laos relations, focusing on the realisation of "strategic cohesion". The visit not only reaffirms the top strategic priority that the two countries give to each other in their foreign policy, but also demonstrates their shared determination to transform the special solidarity from a historical depth to a depth of development cooperation, a long-term strategic partnership for the self-reliance, self-resilience, and common prosperity of both nations./.
VNA
