Vientiane (VNA) – Vietnamese PrimeMinister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandonein Vientiane on January 11, during which the two leaders discussed measures tofurther promote ties between the two countries in all fields.

PM Chinh conveyed Vietnamese Party andleaders’ regards to the Lao PM, and expressed gratitude to the Party, State andpeople of Laos for their loyal, pure sentiments and wholehearted support and assistance to Vietnam.

Congratulating Laos on the positive resultsthat the country has gained in controlling COVID-19 and boosting socio-economicrecovery, PM Chinh said he believed that under the leadership of the Lao People’sRevolutionary Party (LPRP) and the efforts of the Lao Government led by PM Sonexay, Laos will overcome difficulties and continue to successfullyimplement its 9th socio-economic development plan and the Resolution of the11th LPRP National Congress.

PM Sonexay underlined thesignificance of his Vietnamese counterpart’s visit, noting that PM Chinh is thefirst foreign leader to visit Laos in 2023, and right after he took office asthe leader of the Lao Government.

He thanked Vietnam for the sincere supportand impartial assistance that Vietnam has given Laos in the past struggle fornational independence and current process of national construction, defence anddevelopment. He also spoke highly of Vietnam’s achievements in stamping outCOVID-19, boosting post-pandemic economic recovery and development, and clinching higher role and position in the world arena.

The two PMs affirmed the consistent policy ofthe two Parties and States towards each other, and agreed to give the highestpriority to the reinforcement and development of the great friendship, specialsolidarity and comprehensive cooperation.

They shared delight at the progressand stability of the bilateral cooperation over all areas over the years, withdeepening political trust, numerous delegation exchanges at all levels andthrough all channels, optimised bilateral collaboration mechanisms and hundredsof successful joint activities in the Vietnam-Laos, Laos-Vietnam Solidarity andFriendship Year 2022 in both countries.

Particularly, bilateral economic, trade andinvestment ties have been strengthened in the right direction, they said. Lastyear, Vietnamese businesses invested in five new projects and injected morecapital to four existing projects with combined investment of 70 million USD, upnearly 50% from 2021. In 2022, two-way trade rose over 21% tonearly 1.7 billion USD, exceeding the set target.

The two PMs agreed that in the time tocome, they will work closely together to implement the Vietnam-Laos cooperationstrategy for the 2021-2030 period, and the bilateral collaboration agreementfor the 2021-2025 period as well as other signed deals in all fields, whileincreasing all-level delegation exchanges to foster bilateral political ties.

They will step up the theory exchange,while coordinating in ensuring security, social order and safety and promoting security-defensecooperation.

Vietnam and Laos will continue to bolster economicpartnership, supporting each other in post-pandemic recovery, socialist-orientedmarket economy building, and international integration.

The two PMs agreed to continue to maintaintwo-way trade growth of at least 10-15% each year.

The two sides will continue to improvetheir business and investment environments and strengthen the connectivity of the twoeconomies, including in hard and soft infrastructure connections.

They also agreed to continue expandinginvestment partnership, with focus on projects in border localities, whileenhancing the effectiveness of cooperation in justice, science-technology, culture,tourism and people-to-people exchanges as well as cooperation amonglocalities, especially those along the shared border.

They pledged to continue to collaborateclosely in the fields of information and communications, concentrating oneducating the youth of the two countries on the tradition of the Vietnam-Laosspecial ties, and paying greater attention to cooperation in education-training,especially the training of public officials at all levels.

Regarding regional and international issuesof shared concern, the two sides agreed to foster their coordination,information exchange and mutual support at regional and international multilateralforums, especially the UN and ASEAN, as well as sub-regional cooperationmechanisms. They will work together and with other ASEAN countries to maintain ASEAN’s intra-bloc solidarity and central role, while maintaining the bloc's common standpoints on strategic matters, including the EastSea issue.

Vietnam is ready to assist Laos to performinternational tasks in the time to come, including the role as the Chair of ASEAN and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in 2024, PM Chinh affirmed.

Following the talks, the two PMs witnessedthe signing of 10 cooperation agreements in various fields, including digital partnership,mutual civil judicial support, education-training, waterway transport, finance, anddiplomacy.

Vietnam’s central Quang Tri province and Champasak province of Laos alsosigned a framework agreement on the establishment of friendlycooperation ties.

PM Chinh also took this occasion to invitehis Lao counterpart to visit Vietnam at an early date, and the Lao leader accepted the invitation with pleasure./.