Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith on December 3 afternoon as part of his working trip to Laos to co-chair the 48th Meeting of the Vietnam–Laos Intergovernmental Committee on Bilateral Cooperation.
General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith expressed his sincere thanks and high appreciation to Prime Minister Chinh for co-chairing the 48th Meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee immediately following the state visit to Laos by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam and the high-level meeting between the two Parties, making an important contribution to the overall success of the event.
He expressed deep gratitude to the Vietnamese Party, State, and people for their wholehearted and meaningful support for Laos throughout its past struggle for national liberation and in the cause of national construction and development today.
PM Chinh expressed his pleasure at meeting again with General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith, a close comrade and friend of the Vietnamese Party and State. He thanked the Lao side for the warm, respectful, and thoughtful reception; and congratulated Laos on the successful organisation of the 50th National Day celebration, which left deep impressions in terms of solemnity, scale, and historic significance.
During the meeting, the Vietnamese Government leader congratulated Laos on its great and comprehensive achievements in 50 years of national construction and development, as well as 40 years of renovation. He commended Laos’ rising international profile, especially following its successful assumption of the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024.
He expressed his belief that under the wise leadership of the LPRP, headed by General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith, and the effective governance of the Lao Government, Laos will successfully implement the Resolution of the 11th National Party Congress and the 9th Five-Year Socio-Economic Development Plan, towards successfully organising the 12th National Party Congress, continuing to build a peaceful, independent, self-reliant, and prosperous Laos.
He stressed that the great relationship between the two nations has continued to grow deeper and reach new heights, with “strategic cohesion” being an objective necessity and a strategic priority in bilateral ties. He noted that Laos’ prestige, position, national defence and security, and social order have been ensured and further strengthened.
Reaffirming that Vietnam always gives the highest priority to its unique and special relationship with Laos, the Prime Minister underscored Vietnam’s unwavering support for Laos’ national safeguarding, building, and development. He appreciated the sentiments and significant contributions of generations of Lao leaders, particularly General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith, in nurturing the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.
PM Chinh highlighted Vietnam’s wish to continue consolidating and deepening the special political trust, considering it the guiding pillar and driving force for cooperation across all fields.
On this occasion, he shared with the Lao leader the major outcomes of the 48th Meeting of the Vietnam–Laos Intergovernmental Committee on Bilateral Cooperation and the Vietnam–Laos Investment Cooperation Conference 2025, focusing on the implementation of high-level visits, agreements, and priority tasks over the past five years.
He stated that in line with the directions set out during the high-level meeting between the two Parties one day earlier, the two Governments will actively translate them into a concrete Action Plan and urgently put forward measures to strongly promote cooperation, opening a new chapter in bilateral relations.
These measures will be implemented methodically with a feasible roadmap, aiming to build two independent and self-reliant economies that are closely connected and internationally integrated, he said, adding the two sides will continue to enhance the defined drivers of their great friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and special solidarity in the new context and requirements, while adding the new content of “strategic cohesion” in all areas, particularly taking the economy as the driving force and the people as the foundation.
The PM said the two countries should also cooperate in establishing data centres, training human resources, developing Vietnamese educational institutions and vocational schools in Laos. He proposed that Laos continue to create conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to invest and do business in the country.
Both sides expressed their satisfaction with the outstanding and substantive results achieved in their cooperation during 2021-2025, especially in 2025, across cooperation between the two Parties, States, and peoples. Political relations continued to be strengthened; economic cooperation saw new progress; and cooperation between localities, ministries, and sectors deepened significantly, creating a solid foundation for expanding cooperation in the coming period.
Coordination mechanisms were maintained effectively; many key programnes and projects were actively implemented; and long-standing issues were gradually removed, bringing about clear improvements in politics, external affairs, national defence-security, economy, culture-education, and people-to-people exchanges. The two sides also agreed to cooperate in digital transformation and combating cybercrime.
The two leaders emphasised that the positive outcomes achieved during this period will form an important foundation for strongly advancing the strategic cohesion between Vietnam and Laos in the new development phase.
General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith highly valued the outcomes of the 48th Meeting of the Vietnam–Laos Intergovernmental Committee co-chaired by the two Prime Ministers, affirming that the meeting was successful, substantive, and effective with concrete measures and timelines. He acknowledged the efforts of ministries, sectors, and localities of both sides, especially in resolving long-standing projects and promoting cooperation in key areas, resulting in tangible progress in implementing high-level agreements.
Agreeing with PM Chinh’s proposals, the Lao leader expressed confidence that the results of this meeting will create new momentum for bilateral cooperation in the coming period. He affirmed that the important achievements made by both sides not only enhance the effectiveness of the Vietnam-Laos comprehensive cooperation but also confirm the correctness of the policy to enrich, consolidate, and deepen bilateral relations in the direction of “strategic cohesion” as agreed upon by the high-ranking leaders of the two Parties./.
