Vientiane, October 17, 2024 – The Europe Today: Vietnam National Assembly Chairman of Vietnam, Trần Thanh Mẫn, held a meeting with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone in Vientiane, reaffirming Vietnam’s unwavering commitment to its special traditional relationship with Laos. Chairman Mẫn emphasized Vietnam’s support for Laos in its national defense, construction, renewal, and development efforts.
During the meeting, Chairman Mẫn congratulated the Lao Party, State, and people on their significant progress under the 11th National Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and the 9th socio-economic development plan (2021-2025). He expressed confidence that, under the leadership of the LPRP, Laos would successfully organize the 12th National Party Congress in 2026 and continue advancing its national development strategies.
Chairman Mẫn highlighted Vietnam’s commitment to deepening bilateral ties between the two countries, particularly in legislative cooperation. He also offered Vietnam’s expertise in constitutional drafting and law amendments and pledged support for Laos during its tenure as ASEAN Chair and Chair of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in 2024.
Prime Minister Siphandone welcomed the Vietnamese delegation’s visit, expressing appreciation for Vietnam’s support in Laos’ successful hosting of the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits. He praised Vietnam’s economic growth, political stability, and increasing role on the international stage, while acknowledging the ongoing development of the special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two nations.
The Lao Prime Minister commended the outcomes of recent discussions between the two legislative leaders and reaffirmed his support for continued cooperation between the two parliaments. He emphasized the importance of implementing treaties and agreements signed by both governments to further strengthen economic, trade, and investment partnerships.
Chairman Mẫn assured that the Vietnamese National Assembly would continue close cooperation with its Lao counterpart to ensure favorable legal frameworks for joint projects and to enhance supervisory activities to monitor the implementation of agreements between the two governments.
Both leaders stressed the need to intensify cooperation in areas such as defense and security to address traditional and non-traditional security challenges, and to strengthen collaboration in sectors like economy, education, healthcare, and science. The two sides also agreed to boost locality-to-locality cooperation in agriculture, tourism, and trade, and to support each other in multilateral forums.
The meeting underscored the strong and enduring partnership between Vietnam and Laos, with both leaders committing to continued efforts to promote peace, stability, and prosperity for their nations.
