Hanoi (VNA)𓂃 - Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Lao Minister of Industry and Commerce Malaithong Kommasith held talks and signed a new trade agreement between the two countries in Vientiane on April 8.

Describing industry and trade ties as a pillar of bilateral cooperation, Minister Dien held that the two sides should frequently meet and discuss with each other to tackle bottlenecks and promote partnerships in industry, trade, and services. He cited statistics as showing that Vietnam’s total trade turnover topped 735 billion USD, becoming one of the 20 countries with the biggest foreign trade. The country has also established itself as an attractive destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). Therefore, Vietnam has big demand for importing input materials and electricity, including those from Laos, Dien said. The two ministers shared the view that trade between Vietnam and Laos has been growing well over the past years. Since 2012, thanks to great efforts by ministries, sectors, and businesses, in both countries they have reached an annual trade growth target of 10-15%, except for the COVID-19 period. Dien acknowledged Laos's improved production capacity, noting that Laos is gradually becoming an important supplier of raw materials for manufacturing in ASEAN, including Vietnam. However, trade between the two countries has reached just 1.65 billion USD, equivalent to 10% of Laos’ foreign trade and 0.2% of Vietnam’s total, which has yet to match full potential, he pointed out. To tap into trade cooperation potential, the two ministers agreed on measures to implement the agreement on the Vietnamese and Lao governments’ cooperation plan and the minutes of the 46th meeting of the countries’ Inter-governmental Committee. Effective implementation of trade cooperation commitments depends on strong partnerships between Vietnamese and Lao firms. Both sides agreed to hold more trade promotion and business matching activities such as business forums, networking conferences, trade fairs, and market information seminars. They also stressed the critical importance of cross-border trade, which currently makes up over 90% of bilateral trade. They called for effectively implementing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the development and connectivity of Vietnam-Laos border trade infrastructure, signed in January 2024, while aligning the 2007 Hanoi Agreement and the Vietnam - Laos Border Trade Agreement to align with the current context. Following the talks, the two ministers signed the new Vietnam - Laos trade agreement. They witnessed the signing of an MoU between the General Department of Market Surveillance (GDMS) under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Department of Business Competition and Trade Inspection under the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Another MoU between the GP Holdings of Vietnam’s National Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Phonesack Group of Laos on building warehouses and conveyor belts for coal transportation. The Vietnam - Laos trade agreement was first signed in 2015. The Vietnamese and Lao governments assigned ministries of industry and trade to negotiate amendments and supplements to build a new deal to match the current context. The content of the new deal was reached after three years of negotiations./.