The Ministry of Defence holds a press conference to introduce the third Vietnam-Laos Border Defense Friendship Exchange. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Notably, the program will be held for the first time at the Thanh Thuy border gate area (Nghe An) and the Nam On border gate (Bolikhamsai, Laos) – the connection point of the Hanoi-Vientiane Expressway, a key project with significant political, economic, and defense implications for both countries.

On the afternoon of July 2, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Defense held a press conference to introduce the third Vietnam-Laos Border Defence Friendship Exchange, chaired by Colonel Do Duy Chinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Training (General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army).

Colonel Do Duy Chinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Training, provides information to the press about the exchange program. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

On the afternoon of July 2, the information was announced at the press conference organized by the Ministry of Defence in Hanoi, chaired by Colonel Do Duy Chinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Training (General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army).

According to Lieutenant Colonel Bui Van Manh, Head of the Southeast Asia Division, Department of Foreign Relations (Ministry of National Defence), this is the third time the Vietnam-Laos Border Defense Friendship Exchange is being held, and it features many new aspects.

In addition to choosing the Thanh Thuy and Nam On border gate areas as venues, this year's program includes many symbolic activities.

The two Deputy Prime Ministers and Defence Ministers of Vietnam and Laos will offer incence at the Kim Lien Special National Relic (Nam Dan, Nghe An) to honour the generations of leaders who laid the foundation for the friendship between the two countries.

Lieutenant Colonel Bui Van Manh, Head of the Southeast Asia Division, Department of Foreign Relations (Ministry of Defense) provides information at the press conference. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

The two Defence Ministers will also witness the mid-term review of the twinning of residential clusters on both sides of the border, and participate in cultural and sports exchanges with the people of Thuy Phong village (Thanh Kim commune, Nghe An) and Xop Torng village (Laos).

Another highlight of the program is the groundbreaking ceremony for Thanh Ha Kindergarten. This kindergarten, combined with a flood-avoidance structure, is designed to be suitable for preschool children and ensure safety during the rainy season, helping to prevent disruptions in the children's education.

According to representatives of the Department of Foreign Relations, the third Vietnam-Laos Border Defense Friendship Exchange is organized on the occasion of the 49th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (July 18, 1977 - July 18, 2026), and takes place in the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh – a place associated with milestones that laid the foundation for the special Vietnam-Laos friendship.

The program is a politically significant event, contributing to concretizing the common understanding of the high-level leaders of the two Parties and countries on further promoting substantive defence cooperation; while strengthening solidarity and friendship between border protection forces, local authorities, and people in border areas, contributing to building a peaceful, friendly, stable, cooperative, and developing border.

The Vietnamese delegation attending the program is led by General Phan Van Giang, Politburo Member, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence.

The Lao delegation is led by General Khamliang Outhakaysone, Politburo Member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence of Laos.

According to the plan, activities in Laos will take place on July 9, starting with a welcoming ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation at the area of Milestone 460, followed by a salute, painting the milestone, and planting a friendship tree at the milestone area on the Lao side.

Major General Van Ngoc Que, Deputy Political Commissar of the Border Guard, shares about cooperation activities at the Vietnam-Laos border and preparations for the Exchange program. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Within the framework of the program, both sides will organize a groundbreaking ceremony for the Coordination Station of the 252nd Border Guard Company – a project funded by the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence; visit, present gifts, and award 100 scholarships to students of Thong-nam-mun Primary School (Xop Torng village, Xaychomphone district); visit medical examination and treatment activities, distribute free medicine at the Xop Torng military-civilian medical station, and donate 50 breeding cows to 50 disadvantaged families in the Lao border area. The program concludes with a farewell ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation at the Namon border gate.

On July 10, activities in Vietnam will begin with a welcoming ceremony for the Lao delegation at the area of Milestone 460, followed by planting a friendship tree, visiting the Thanh Thuy Border Guard Station, attending the mid-term review of the twinning of residential clusters on both sides of the border, and participating in cultural and sports exchanges between Thuy Phong village (Kim Bang commune, Nghe An province) and Xop Torng village (Namon cluster, Xaychomphone district, Bolikhamsai province).

The program also includes the groundbreaking ceremony for Thanh Ha Kindergarten; donating 50 breeding cows to 50 disadvantaged families in the Vietnamese border area; visiting the Kim Lien Special National Relic; holding talks between the two delegations and a farewell ceremony for the Lao delegation at the Thanh Thuy border gate.

Before the official activities take place, both sides will organize several side programs such as a mid-term review of the twinning between Thanh Thuy Border Guard Station (Vietnam) and the 252nd Border Guard Company (Laos); a young border officer exchange program with activities such as planting friendship trees and gardens, volleyball exchanges, cross-border marathons, and seminars combined with awarding 100 scholarships to disadvantaged students in the "Nang buoc em den truong" program in Vietnam, along with medical examination and treatment activities, and free medicine distribution for people in the Vietnamese border area.