In his keynote speech, Chairman of the Dien Bien provincial People’s Committee Mua A Son noted that the two neighbouring countries have established a close-knit, faithful and long-lasting relationship. Over the past decades, the special relationship, founded by late President Ho Chi Minh and late President Kaysone Phomvihan, has stood the test of time, developed well and recorded tremendous achievements.

Dien Bien has a 360km border shared with Laos. Since 2005, it has sent 109 delegations to visit and exchange expertise with six northern provinces in Laos. Conversely, 2,047 Lao officials have visited Dien Bien in the same period.

The Vietnamese province has helped its Lao localities build social welfare projects worth over VND64 billion and implement strategies for agriculture, forestry and rural economic development. It has also trained 807 Lao students, creating significantly better conditions for healthcare development in Laos. 

In turn, the participating Lao provinces have helped to excavate and repatriate nearly 1,500 sets of remains of volunteer Vietnamese soldiers who were laid down their lives in Laos during the war.

Governor of Phongsaly province, Khamsane Souvong thanked Dien Bien for providing significant assistance to Lao localities, including economic development, security and national defence, and hoped to receive additional aid from the Vietnamese province in the future.

The meeting was attended by leaders of the six Lao provinces of Phongsaly, Oudomxay, Luangprabang, Bokeo, Luang Namtha and Sayaboury.