Within the framework of the official visit to Vietnam by Lao Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane and his wife from December 13-14, on the morning of February 14, at the Headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held talks with Lao Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane.
At the meeting, the two sides expressed their delight that the Vietnam - Laos cooperation relationship continues to develop strongly, effectively and in depth, substantially in all fields.
Political trust continues to be enhanced through regularly maintaining delegation exchanges, high-level and all-level contacts as well as cooperation mechanisms, notably the meeting between the two Politburoes (September 2024) and the 47th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee (January 2025) as well as the Political Consultation at the Foreign Minister level in December 2024.
Defense and security cooperation continues to maintain a good tradition, go into depth, be effective and a solid support for each other.
The two sides expressed their delight at the continued strengthening of economic, trade and investment cooperation. Two-way trade turnover in 2024 will reach 2.25 billion USD.
To soon achieve the trade turnover target of 5 billion USD in the coming years as agreed by the two Prime Ministers at the 47th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee, the two sides agreed to urge relevant ministries and branches to develop mechanisms, preferential policies and encourage bilateral trade, promote connectivity between the two economies, especially border trade infrastructure, and facilitate the circulation of goods between border areas.
In particular, the two sides emphasized the strong and effective direction of the two Politburoes in recent times in handling difficulties and obstacles in implementing key projects, creating momentum for project implementation in the coming time.
The two sides highly appreciated the cooperation and close coordination between the two Foreign Ministries in recent times; agreed to continue to effectively implement the Cooperation Agreement for the period 2021 - 2025 and coordinate in reviewing and developing the Cooperation Agreement for the next period.
The two sides agreed to regularly maintain the mechanism of Political Consultation at the Foreign Minister level and Political Consultation at the Deputy Foreign Minister level every year; promote propaganda and education on the tradition of special solidarity between Vietnam and Laos, especially for the young diplomatic generations of the two countries; continue to support the Vietnamese community in Laos to live stably; solve the problems of the Vietnamese community in Laos, including granting citizenship and residence cards to Vietnamese people living long-term in Laos and granting licenses to Vietnamese workers who meet Lao regulations.
The two sides also shared views on international and regional issues of mutual concern; agreed to closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums, especially within ASEAN and Mekong sub-regional cooperation mechanisms; and supported ASEAN's common stance on strategic issues in the region, including the East Sea issue.
Immediately after the talks, Lao Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane, on behalf of the Lao State, presented the noble Medals and Certificates of Merit of the Lao Party and State to the collectives and individuals of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs who have made many contributions to the Vietnam - Laos Friendship Solidarity Year 2022.
