The Vietnamese and Lao Governments have affirmed their diplomatic commitments to developing the bilateral relationship of great friendship, special solidarity, along with comprehensive co-operation at the 43rd session of the Inter-governmental Committee.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and
his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith (Photo: VNA)

The event took place as part of Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith’s visit to the nation which is running from December 4 to December 6 at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The visit is designed to consolidate political trust between the two countries whilst also creating a channel to accelerate the implementation of high-level agreements in relation to co-operative relations between the two countries moving forward.

The visit of the Lao leader to the country is taking place amid bilateral ties, friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive co-operation, enjoying strong development. Despite this year seeing many activities cancelled due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, both sides have strived to maintain high-level visits and meetings, along with co-operation mechanisms, including an annual meeting of the two Political Bureaus and the 42nd session of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committee.

The first half of the year saw the countries exchange 27 delegations, in which 10 Vietnamese delegations made a visit to  Laos.
At present, defence-security co-operation continues to represent one of the most important pillars in bilateral relations. Indeed, both nations have actively carried out the five-year co-operation protocol and the annual defence–security co-operation plans, thereby helping to ensure political stability, security, social order, and safety in each nation. They have also effectively carried out an agreement on border regulations along with one on dealing with irregular migration and undocumented marriage in border areas.

Furthermore, both sides have continued to work closely together in an effort to search for and repatriate the remains of volunteer Vietnamese soldiers and experts who laid down their lives in Laos during previous conflicts. In the 2019 to 2020 dry season, a total of 168 remains were successfully repatriated from Laos.

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral cooperation in trade and investment has been affected, with two-way trade being valued at US$815.5 million from January to October, an annual fall of 12.2%.

Moreover, both sides have effectively implemented the project aimed at improving the quality and effectiveness of bilateral ties in education and human resources development for the 2011 to 2020 period.

This year has seen the country provide 1,000 scholarships for Laos, while the Laotian side have also granted 60 scholarships to the nation.

In line with this, links between Vietnamese and Laotian localities, especially those in border regions, have been further enhanced, including in infrastructure building, health care, human resources development, and border security.

Both sides have also co-ordinated closely and supported each other at regional and international forums, thereby further enhancing co-operation with each other and other ASEAN members to build the ASEAN Community whilst maintaining the bloc’s solidarity and consensus in relation to the region’s strategic issues.