Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung.

Speaking on the occasion of the 60th founding anniversary of the Vietnam-Laos diplomatic relations (September 5, 1962-2022) and 45 years of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (July 18, 1977-2022), Hung highlighted that along with the military front, diplomacy was the common battlefield of both countries during the struggle against the French colonialism and American imperialism.

Through diplomacy, Vietnam called for international support to the struggle for independence of the Lao people and the recognition of its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity through the Geneva Agreement in 1962, he noted.

The diplomat said that since the two countries set up their diplomatic relations on September 5, 1962, the ties between Vietnam and Laos have been continuously reinforced and developed.

Both sides have pursued a diplomatic policy of peace, independence, self-reliance, friendship and cooperation, and multilateralisation and diversification of relations. Vietnam and Laos have also actively integrated into the world and been willing to be trustworthy partners of all countries, said Ambassador Hung.

He underlined that together with defence and security, diplomacy has become a key force for the promotion of cooperation between the two countries in all fields, with effective State diplomacy in reinforcing and developing bilateral relations, especially through the holding of visits by senior Party and State leaders to each other’s country.

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Party Central Committee’s External Relations Commissions of Vietnam and Laos have played the main role in organising annual meetings between the two Politburos and the Inter-Governmental Committees, helping accelerate bilateral partnership and drive the cooperation in the right direction with higher quality and efficiency, he said.

Hung stressed that the diplomatic sectors of both countries have greatly contributed to the completion of border demarcation, the increase of the border markers, and the restoration of the marker system, settling problems in unorganised migration and undocumented marriage along the shared border, while helping speed up the expansion of border gates and building a 2,300km borderline of peace, stability and development.

At the same time, the sector has contributed to the growth of two-way trade in recent years, while helping beef up bilateral collaboration in culture, education, information and communications, health care, and people-to-people contacts.

Meanwhile, the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs have taken the lead in bolstering bilateral collaboration in the new period, focusing on helping each other in deeply and extensively integrating into the region and the world, said the diplomat.

Both sides have actively supported each other in joining international and regional organisations, while regularly exchanging information and consulting each other at forums such as the UN, ASEAN and ASEM, he noted, adding that the two ministries have also supported each other in hosting many important international and regional events.

Ambassador Hung affirmed that the diplomatic sectors of Vietnam and Laos have worked closely in strategic research and forecast of regional and international situations, on the foundation of high trust and consensus in evaluating the situation, while cooperating closely in personnel training, with Vietnam helping Laos train many high-quality diplomatic officials.