The agreement was reached during talks in Vientiane on December 1 between Party General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos and visiting Party General Secretary To Lam of Vietnam.

General Secretary and President Thongloun warmly welcomed General Secretary Lam on his first State visit to Laos, emphasising that the visit reflects Vietnam’s great respect for its special relationship with Laos. He said the presence of the Vietnamese delegation during Laos’ major national celebrations, including its 50th National Day and the 105th birth anniversary of President Kaysone Phomvihane, added special significance to these historic occasions.

The Lao leader expressed appreciation for Vietnam’s consistent support in Laos’ national construction efforts and highlighted Vietnam’s 40 years of renovation achievements as a source of valuable experience for Laos. He also praised Vietnam for successfully hosting major domestic celebrations marking 50 years of national reunification, 80 years of the August Revolution, and National Day, as well as Vietnam’s successful organisation of recent multilateral events, including the UN Convention against Cybercrime signing ceremony.

General Secretary Lam expressed his pleasure to return to Laos and reaffirmed that Vietnam consistently gives the highest priority to its special solidarity with Laos. He congratulated Laos on its major development achievements, including stable economic growth, improved living standards, strengthened national defence and security, and its successful chairmanship of ASEAN on multiple occasions, demonstrating its growing position internationally.

Both sides exchanged detailed updates on domestic developments. General Secretary Lam briefed his host on Vietnam’s comprehensive administrative and political restructuring efforts, the strengthening of Party building, and progress in socio-economic development.

The two leaders reaffirmed that the Vietnam–Laos relationship is a unique model of bilateral ties, built on historical solidarity, shared sacrifices, and strategic interdependence. They agreed to further deepen political cooperation through flexible high-level exchanges, strengthened theoretical dialogue, and tighter coordination in strategic policymaking.

Both sides emphasised the importance of educating younger generations about the history and values of the Vietnam–Laos special relationship, ensuring continuity and safeguarding the legacy of solidarity between the two Parties and peoples.

The leaders noted substantial progress in defence and security cooperation, calling it a vital pillar of bilateral relations. They agreed to expand cooperation in border security, joint responses to emerging security challenges, and link defence cooperation with socio-economic development in border regions, aiming to maintain a peaceful, stable, and sustainable shared border.

The two sides committed to accelerating economic linkages and infrastructure connectivity in transport, energy, telecommunications, and logistics. They set a goal to increase bilateral trade to US$5 billion in the near future and move toward US$10 billion.

Vietnam and Laos agreed to enhance macroeconomic policy coordination, support businesses and facilitate investment expansion, and accelerate progress of Vietnam-funded aid and development projects in Laos, ensuring quality and efficiency. Both leaders stressed the need to remove bottlenecks hindering investment cooperation and to strengthen financial–banking collaboration.

The two countries will expand cooperation in education and training, particularly high-quality human resource development for Laos, while strengthening people-to-people exchanges and cooperation among provinces, especially border localities. Cultural, scientific, and technical cooperation will also be intensified as strategic pillars.

In the context of global uncertainties and increasingly complex regional developments, the two sides agreed to maintain close coordination in multilateral mechanisms, especially ASEAN, and continue supporting each other’s legitimate interests under international law. They emphasised the importance of peace, stability, and cooperation in the East Sea.

At the conclusion of the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of 12 important cooperation documents across major sectors, including defence, security, justice, health, education and training, finance and banking, and strategic infrastructure, providing a legal and institutional foundation for deeper cooperation in the next phase.

General Secretary To Lam extended an invitation to General Secretary, President Thongloun Sisoulith to visit Vietnam at a suitable time. The Lao leader accepted the invitation with pleasure.

Party chief To Lam honoured with Laos’ National Gold Order

VOV.VN - The Party General Secretary and President of Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith, presented the National Gold Order, the highest honour of Laos, to visiting Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam in Vientiane on December 1.