Deputy PM, FM holds online talks with Lao counterpart

Deputy PM Saleumxay congratulated Deputy PM Son on the occasion of the 79th anniversary of the National Day of Vietnam and the 79th founding anniversary of the diplomatic sector, as well as his appointment as the Deputy PM.

He expressed his confidence that Deputy PM Son, with his ability and experience, will continue making contributions to concretizing the external missions entrusted by the Vietnamese Party and State.

The Vietnamese politician, for his part, thanked the Laotian Deputy PM and FM for his congratulations, stating that Vietnam has recorded many noble achievements over the past 79 years thanks to the sincere and wholehearted support from Laos. He went on to stress that he will continue close co-ordination with Deputy PM Saleumxay to reinforce the special relations, as well as ties between the two foreign ministries.

The two officials rejoiced at the robust development of bilateral relations across various domains over the past time, with political ties having upheld its key role in the bilateral relationship, whilst defence-security co-operation has been consolidated to ensure political stability, defence-security, and social order in each nation.

Meanwhile, collaboration in the fields of economy, trade, and investment has been strengthened, with two-way trade during the January to July period  surging by 16.7% on-year to reach US$1.1 billion. Furthermore, positive collaboration results were recorded in education-training, healthcare, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.

They agreed to go ahead with co-ordination to bring into full play the outcomes of high-level visits, particularly the state visit to Laos by President To Lam in July, as well as the agreement reached at the 46th meeting of the Vietnam – Laos Intergovernmental Committee for Bilateral Cooperation.

Regarding co-operation ties at regional and international forums, the two officials reached a consensus on enhancing experience and information sharing, as well as promising close co-ordination at multilateral forums, especially the UN, the ASEAN, and Mekong sub-regional co-operation mechanisms.

Deputy PM Son affirmed support and assistance for Laos to help Vietnam to successfully fulfil its international responsibility in the coming time, including the ASEAN and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Chairmanship in 2024.

He said the move will contribute to improving Laos’s role and position in both the regional and international arenas.