Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Lao counterpart Phankham Viphavanh (R) review the guard of honour at the welcome ceremony for the latter in Hanoi on January 8.

PM Chinh spoke highly of the achievements recorded by Laos in the national construction and reform over the past time as well as its government’s determination and efforts in the fight against the COVID-19, and expressed his gratitude to the heart-felt support and help from the fraternal country to Vietnam in the national construction and defence.

For his part, the Lao leader also spoke highly of Vietnam’s achievements in its recent national construction and development, and thanked the Party, State and people of Vietnam for their great, valuable help to Laos.

They reaffirmed their countries’ consistent policies of always attaching importance and top priority to the consolidation and strengthening of the bilateral great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation. The two sides agreed to continue the exchange of high-level and lower-level visits and contacts, effectively implement the agreements reached, provide mutual support in safeguarding socio-security stability, and continue to jointly search for remains of Vietnamese soldiers who laid down their lives in Laos.

The two exchanged ideas on measures aimed at raising the level of the pillar of economic cooperation to match the bilateral special relationship; and agreed to boost the connectivity between the two economies, especially the land-road, railway, aviation sea port projects. They also agreed to continue raising the quality of the education-training cooperation; strengthen exchanges in culture, sports and tourism; and boost cooperation in clean agriculture, e-commerce and digital transform.

The two sides shared various common assessments on the international and regional situation; and agreed to continue their close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, to join other ASEAN countries in supporting Cambodia to successfully carry out its 2022 ASEAN chairmanship, and to support Cambodia to push the implementation of the ASEAN 5-point consensus on the halt of violence and the acceleration of humanitarian support for Myanmar. They also agreed to continue their coordination to maintain the ASEAN common stance on strategic issues related to peace and stability of the region, including the East Sea issue.

The Lao PM invited PM Chinh to pay an official visit to Laos at a suitable time, and the invitation was accepted.

Following their talks, the two PMs witnessed the ceremony to sign and exchange eight cooperation documents in the fields of security, border, economy, banking, education, health care, and electricity.

During the ongoing visit, the two PM will co-chair the launch of the Vietnam - Laos, Laos - Vietnam Friendship and Solidarity Year 2022 and the 44th session of the Vietnam - Laos Inter-governmental Committee.

The Lao guest is scheduled to meet Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

Party General Secretary receives Lao Prime Minister

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh in Hanoi on January 8, describing his guest’s official visit to Vietnam as a demonstration of the close-knit and special ties between the two countries.

The Lao PM congratulated Vietnam on the recent achievements and expressed his belief that under the Communist Party of Vietnam’s leadership, the Vietnamese people will harvest even greater attainments in the Doi moi (Renewal) process and successfully carry out the resolution of the 13th National Party Congress.

He appreciated Vietnam’s enormous, timely, and effective support and assistance for his country throughout history, including the aid in COVID-19 fight.

The Lao Party, State, and people will do their utmost to maintain and nurture the special Laos - Vietnam relations, he affirmed.

Highlighting the significance of his guest’s visit, the Party leader congratulated Laos on the achievements after one year of implementing the resolution of its 11th National Party Congress, voicing his belief that the Lao people will continue obtaining major successes.

The host noted that Vietnam always attaches importance and the top priority to enhancing the two countries’ special relations. It also consistently and strongly supports the reforms and development of Laos.

Applauding the mutual assistance in the pandemic combat, he emphasised the importance of the unceasing reinforcement of bilateral relations to each country’s stability and development, as well as to peace and cooperation in the region and the world at large.

The Vietnamese leader also underlined the importance of the two Governments’ coordination mechanism and asked both sides to keep advancing their political ties in a substantive manner.

At the meeting, both host and guest expressed their delight at the recent strides in Vietnam - Laos cooperation, affirming joint efforts to maintain and nurture bilateral ties.

The special Vietnam - Laos relationship is a priceless common asset of the two Parties and peoples and also an important resource for the national development and defence in each country, greatly contributing to regional and global peace, stability, cooperation, and development, according to the leaders.

Earlier the same day, the Lao PM paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at the late Vietnamese leader’s mausoleum and laid wreaths at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs in Hanoi.

Vietnam, Laos eye breakthrough measures to enhance cooperation's effectiveness

State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh shared the view that both sides must foster closer coordination and come up with breakthrough measures to enhance their cooperation’s effectiveness while meeting in Hanoi on January 8.

The Lao PM is on an official visit to Vietnam until January 10 at the invitation of his counterpart PM Pham Minh Chinh.

Welcoming PM Phankham Viphavanh, President Phuc said he expects the visit will provide a new impetus for the Vietnam-Laos special relations to expand further. He also expressed his delight at what Laos has achieved in recent years.

Phankham Viphavanh also highly spoke of major achievements made by Vietnamese people over the past years, saying under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the Vietnamese people will succeed in implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and the Socio-economic Development Strategy for the 2021 – 2030 period.

Both leaders said they are pleased to see the sustainable growth of the comprehensive partnership and great friendship between the two countries, and highly valued each other’s support in fighting COVID-19.

Phuc suggested the two sides should continue promoting their strong political ties and unleashing their potential and advantages in implementing specific cooperation plans, projects and works.

The two leaders agreed Vietnam and Laos must work together to solve problems and challenges their businesses are facing to boost investors’ confidence; accelerate economic links between the two nations; and make the most of free trade agreements to which they are signatories.

They also wanted the two countries to expand connections in both hard and soft infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, and digital economy.

They highly valued coordination and support received from each other at multilateral forums, particularly within the framework of the UN, ASEAN and sub-regional cooperation. They agreed to together with other ASEAN member states to back Cambodia in its ASEAN Chairmanship for 2022 and maintain the bloc’s solidarity and centrality.

Phuc later took the occasion to ask his guest to convey his greetings to Party General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith and other leaders of Laos.

Top legislator welcomes visiting Lao Prime Minister

Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue met with Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh, who is on an official visit to Vietnam, in Hanoi on January 8.

The Lao PM spoke highly of the achievements that the Vietnamese Party, State, and people have obtained recently, voicing his belief that under the Communist Party of Vietnam’s leadership, the Vietnamese people will successfully carry out the resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and the socio-economic development strategy for 2021 - 2030, and unceasingly raise the country’s role and stature in the region and the world.

Both host and guest affirmed that the Parties, Governments, parliaments, and peoples of their countries always attach importance and give the top priority to maintaining the unique relationship between Vietnam and Laos.

They noted with satisfaction that despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral cooperation has still been developing via all channels and in all fields. They also applauded the close cooperation between specialised committees of the Vietnamese and Lao parliaments in organising workshops and sharing lawmaking experience.

The leaders shared the view that the two parliaments need to keep coordination to monitor and facilitate the effective implementation of their countries’ agreements, while further increasing consultation and sharing experience in legislative affairs so as to help fuel post-pandemic socio-economic recovery and development.

Chairman Hue said the Vietnamese NA has been working to tackle every legal and institutional difficulty and arrange resources for accelerating joint projects, especially the transport infrastructure ones connecting the two countries and linking Laos with Vietnam's seaports, thereby helping connect Laos to the sea and turn it into a regional integration connectivity centre.

The two sides also agreed to continue close coordination and mutual support in their parliaments’ activities, particularly at regional and international parliamentary forums.

Source: VNA