Meeting with the lao legislator and his entourage, Hoang Quoc Khanh, secretary of the Son La Provincial Party Committee, emphasised that Son La, sharing a border with the Lao provinces of Houaphanh and Luang Prabang, is proud to serve as a bridge to deepen the special relationship between the Parties and peoples of Vietnam and Laos.

He noted that Son La has signed comprehensive cooperation agreements with nine Lao provinces, and expected that it would receive continued support from the Lao government and National Assembly for closer cooperation between the two sides.

He also briefed the Lao delegation on the province’s socio-economic development, defence and security work, and ongoing cooperation with Lao provinces.

From 2022 to 2024, Khanh said, 25 cooperation documents were signed, including 10 at the provincial level and 15 at the departmental and local levels. Border defence forces of both sides have actively engaged in joint patrols, information exchange, and crime prevention, while maintaining twinning relations between seven pairs of border villages and ten pairs of border posts.

Trade activities across the border have been conducted in accordance with regulations, with preferential policies under the border trade agreement widely disseminated to enterprises and residents. The import-export turnover between Son La and Lao provinces reached over US$4.2 million in the 2022–2024 period.

Under the cooperation agreement, Son La has supported training for 45 Lao students from each partner province in fields such as postgraduate, undergraduate, and college education, Vietnamese language, and political theory. Currently, nearly 960 Lao students are studying at various educational institutions in Son La province.

Vice Chairman of the Lao National Assembly Luongbunmi expressed his pleasure at visiting Son La, a land with a heroic revolutionary tradition, which once sent voluntary soldiers to Laos during its struggle for independence. He highlighted that the current visit aimed to implement the memorandum of understanding on parliamentary cooperation between the two countries, and to share legislative and oversight experiences between the Vietnamese National Assembly and local People’s Councils.

Vietnam and Laos promote parliamentary cooperation

VOV.VN - Vietnam and Laos exchanged views on measures to foster parliamentary cooperation during talks in Hanoi on April 21 between Tran Quang Phuong, vice chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam, and his visiting Lao counterpart Suvon Luongbunmi.