Hanoi (VNA)♛ - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and visiting Lao Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith looked into preparations for the upcoming 47th meeting of the Vietnam - Laos Intergovernmental Committee at their working session in Hanoi on December 31.
Son affirmed the importance and highest priority Vietnam gives to the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation with Laos, and noted his belief that Kommasith’s visit will yield positive outcomes.
For his part, Kommasith thanked the Party, State, and people of Vietnam for their constant support for Laos over the years, especially as Laos has faced economic and financial challenges. He emphasised that the assistance reflects their unique, loyal, and deeply trusted relationship.
The official said his visit is to work with the Vietnamese side to review and finalise preparations for the upcoming Vientiane meeting, to be co-chaired by the two PMs, adding the work has been done, with several issues settled through consensus by the two sides.
Kommasith shared insights from his visit to a Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), saying he would like to learn more about this cooperation model as well as Vietnam’s experience in tapping potential and strengths for development towards establishing a Laos - Vietnam Industrial Park to attract more Vietnamese investments into his country, particularly in the processing industry.
The two Deputy PMs looked into cooperation projects, including those in transport infrastructure such as the Hanoi - Vientiane Expressway, and agreed to thoroughly address obstacles and complete legal procedures to facilitate their implementation.
They also discussed the Vietnam - Laos Friendship Park project in Laos, expected to be completed within approximately one year under a turnkey model.
Regarding preparations for the 47th meeting, Son said the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been tasked with protocol, logistics, and communications activities, while the Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for coordinating the meeting, including its agenda and content. Both ministries will work closely with their Lao counterparts to ensure the best possible results for the event.
He said Vietnam attaches great importance to the meeting between the two PMs and the two countries' businesses, and that Vietnam will invite major enterprises to the function, enabling them to engage in exchanges.
Son urged relevant ministries and agencies to work with their Lao counterparts to untangle knots and complete legal procedures for cooperation projects to ensure they are completed on time.
The host official suggested Deputy PM Kommasith instruct the Lao side to closely coordinate with Vietnam, including the Ministry of Transport, the Commission for Management of State Capital at Enterprises, and the People's Committee of the central province of Ha Tinh, to accelerate the implementation of key projects such as Vung Ang Port and road and rail links to the port. The procedures should be completed as soon as possible, he said./.
The Lao Ministry of National Defence hosted a meeting to mark the 80th anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and the 35th anniversary of the All People’s Defence Festival (December 22) in Vientiane on December 30 morning, bringing together senior officers of the Lao People's Army.
The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and the Lao Consulate General in the city on December 27 oganised a Vietnam-Laos trade and investment promotion forum which aimed to boost connections between the two countries’ businesses and investors.
He also welcomed the “Vietnam Private Sector Panorama” as a platform for dialogue, awareness-raising, and inspiring a wealth-creation movement, emphasising that it must deliver tangible results.
During a meeting on August 10 in Seoul with 100 representatives from the RoK’s intellectuals, associations, people’s organisations, businesses, and non-governmental organisations operating in Vietnam, Party General Secretary To Lam expressed his gratitude to Korean friendship, economic, cultural associations, universities, research institutes, individuals, and NGOs for their significant contributions to nurturing the Vietnam–RoK relationship.
Party General Secretary To Lam met with Chairman of the Republic of Korea (RoK)–Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group Ahn Gyu-back in Seoul on August 10 as part of his state visit to the RoK.
The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee is scheduled to convene its 48th session on August 11-13, with August 14-15 set as a backup date, according to the NA Office.
Vietnam’s Ambassador to Brazil and Bolivia Bui Van Nghi has led an embassy delegation to attend official events marking the 200th anniversary of Bolivia’s Independence Day.
Party General Secretary To Lam met with members of the Vietnam Innovation Network in Korea (VINK) and Vietnamese experts living and working in the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Seoul on August 10 as part of his state visit to the RoK.
In an interview with Korean media on the occasion of Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to the RoK, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed that the visit demonstrates Vietnam’s strong resolve to further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the RoK, with the aim of fostering greater political trust, closer strategic coordination, more substantive and comprehensive cooperation, and stronger bonds of friendship between the two countries' people.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is also a Politburo member and Secretary of the Government Party Committee, attended the 4th Party Congress of the EVN Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 tenure on August 10, directing EVN to ensure power supply to meet the country’s development demands with double-digit growth set for the coming years.
Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, along with a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived in Seongnam Air Base in Seoul on August 10 afternoon (local time), beginning a state visit to the Republic of Korea from August 10-13.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly departed from Hanoi on August 10 morning for a four-day state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK), which is made at an invitation of RoK President Lee Jae Myung.
As part of the ASEAN Day celebrations, the Vietnamese embassy will also host the ASEAN Family Day 2025 in Ottawa to foster solidarity and community spirit among ASEAN members in Canada.
State President Luong Cuong’s trip once again reaffirmed the Party and State’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations. It also reflected the strong trend of enhanced cooperation among countries of the Global South in shaping a new, more multipolar, fair and equitable world order.
The outcomes of Party General Secretary To Lam's visit will serve as a driving force and source of inspiration for the two countries to inherit, promote, and elevate their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, contributing to the national construction and development cause in each country, and to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 9 inspected the construction site of the new Phong Chau bridge, and surveyed a planned route for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway section running through the northern province of Phu Tho.
Across print, broadcast, and online platforms, Angolan media portrayed State President Luong Cuong's visit as a warm and historic occasion, strengthening bilateral ties and boosting Vietnam’s presence in Africa through the AU.
The 500kV Lao Cai – Vinh Yen power transmission line has a total investment of over 7.41 trillion VND (282.5 million USD), and a total length of 229.5 km, passing through 31 communes in the two provinces, and comprising 468 transmission tower foundations.
The visits reflected the elevated position of Vietnam’s foreign policy in the new era—aimed at not only advancing ties with key regional partners like Egypt and Angola but also delivering a strategic message about Vietnam’s commitment to deepening relations with African nations as a whole.
At their talks and meetings, President Cuong and Angola’s top leaders affirmed that the close brotherhood and traditional friendship are a valuable shared asset and a solid foundation for the two nations to advance into a new phase of development.
The ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) attaches great importance to the friendship, solidarity, and comradeship with the Communist Party of Vietnam, and voiced her Party’s wish to further deepen and expand relations between the two sides for the benefit of the Vietnamese and Angolan people.
Vietnam pledges to do its utmost to build an ASEAN of solidarity, consensus, and unity in diversity, and to foster a fast and sustainable development path for ASEAN, grounded in science, technology, and innovation, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
