Hanoi (VNA)🧸 - The Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Lao Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare jointly held the seventh labour and social welfare ministers’ meeting via videoconference on November 2.

The event took place in the context of the growing special friendship, solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos. In his opening speech, Vietnamese Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung highly appreciated the remarkable efforts in cooperation between the two ministries recently, especially amid complex developments in the region and the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “From the initial exchange, sharing of experiences, and short-term training, so far, hundreds of Lao officials, teachers and students have been trained at universities of technological pedagogy and vocational training institutions under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs with the official development assistance capital funded by the Government of Vietnam. A number of Lao vocational training institutions have been provided with equipment and transferred training technology from Vietnamese vocational education institutions in a number of key industries such as automobile technology, electricity and electronics and information technology …," said Minister Dao Ngoc Dung. The two ministries exchanged experiences of the work of people who rendered their services to the nation, cooperation in technical exchange and provision of orthopedic rehabilitation equipment for people with disabilities. The two sides also actively exchanged information on the situation of Vietnamese laborers in Laos and Lao workers in Vietnam, relevant regulations and policies of the two countries. They also discussed solutions to the management of  Vietnamese workers in Laos. For his part, Baykham Khattiya, Member of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, shared about the dual impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's lives and socio-economic development of Laos. He expressed thanks for the recent great support in technology and medical equipment of the Party and Government of Vietnam for Laos. He also affirmed that the cooperation between the two ministries will continue to be promoted in many fields in the near future. At the event, the two sides also discussed advantages and disadvantages that need to be overcome. At the conclusion of the meeting, the two officials approved a report on the cooperation outcomes during 2019 - 2021 and the cooperation orientations for 2021 - 2025 in terms of labour and social affairs. They signed online the minute of the meeting and an agreement on labour and social welfare cooperation between the two ministries. As per the signed documents, the ministries will step up ties in a practical and effective manner and diversify cooperation forms and mechanisms from ministerial to grassroots levels. They will focus on promoting the effective implementation of the Vietnam-Laos labor cooperation agreement of 2013; strengthening the exchange of experiences in the development of laws and policies; encouraging localities and related organizations to associate with each other and expanding cooperation in the field of labor and social welfare. The two ministries will continue to conduct short-term and long-term training for officials of the two sides with ODA capital funded by the Vietnamese government. They will regularly communicate in order to assess the achieved results, and at the same time consider proposals to the Governments of the two countries to remove difficulties and obstacles. Both sides also agreed to organise the eighth labour and social welfare ministers’ meeting in Laos in 2023./.