Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung (centre) and other Vietnamese officials at the virtual meeting on November 2 (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Laos held the seventh labour andsocial welfare ministers’ meeting via videoconference on November 2.
VietnameseMinister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung spoke highly ofconsiderable cooperation efforts by his ministry and the Lao Ministry of Labourand Social Welfare, especially amid complex developments in the region and theworld due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Noting the pandemic’s impacts on people’s life andsocio-economic development in her country, Lao Minister Baykham Khattiyaappreciated the Vietnamese Party and Government’s technical support andmedical supplies for Laos, affirming that cooperation between the twoministries has continued to be enhanced in multiple aspects.
Lao Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Baykham Khattiya at the meeting on November 2 (Photo: VNA)
Concludingthe meeting, the two officials approved a report on the cooperation outcomesduring 2019 - 2021 and the cooperation orientations for 2021 - 2025 in terms oflabour and social affairs.
They signedan agreement on labour and social welfare cooperation under which theministries will step up ties in a practical and effective manner and diversifycooperation forms and mechanisms from ministerial to grassroots levels.
Both sidesalso agreed to organise the eighth labour andsocial welfare ministers’ meeting in Laos in 2023./.
The Vietnam Business Association for Cooperation and Investment in Laos (BACI) held an ceremony to mark the 17th anniversary of the Vietnam Entrepreneurs’ Day in both face-to-face and online forms in Vientiane on October 13.
Leaders of Ho Chi Minh City and the Lao capital of Vientiane on October 15 held talks and witnessed the signing if a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the two authorities for 2021 – 2025.
Two-way trade between Vietnam and Laos surpassed 947 million USD in the first nine months of 2021, up 28.2 percent year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Laos.
Vietnam has decided to urgently support the Lao Party, State and people with 2.15 million USD and some medical supplies in aid of the nation’s efforts to combat the latest wave of COVID-19, informed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung at a ceremony held on October 25.
An 11-member working team from the central province of Quang Binh to Laos’ Khammouane province to help the bordering country fight COVID-19 returned home on October 25 after successfully completing their missions in two weeks.
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.
Party General Secretary To Lam called on the criminal police force to accelerate the application of science, technology, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation in criminal investigation tasks such as crime prevention, detection, tracking and verification, ensuring that no area remains out of their reach.
Many Koreans living, studying, and working in Hanoi see the upcoming state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) by Party General Secretary To Lam as an opportunity to generate strong synergy in economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural understanding.
The achievements of the five decades of Vietnam–Angola cooperation provide a strong and enduring foundation, as well as momentum for the two sides to consolidate, expand, and bring their partnership into a new phase of development.
Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung (centre) and other Vietnamese officials at the virtual meeting on November 2 (Photo: VNA) 
Lao Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Baykham Khattiya at the meeting on November 2 (Photo: VNA) 
