On 2 September 1945, at the historic Ba Dinh Square, President Ho Chi Minh, the great leader of the Vietnamese nation, read the Declaration of Independence, thereby giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This historic event ushered the Vietnamese nation into a new era — an era in which the people became masters of their country, enjoyed freedom and took control of their own destiny; an era of national independence associated with socialism.

From that historic moment, bearing firmly in mind the truth that “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom,” and under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people have stood united as one, successfully fulfilled the cause of national liberation and national reunification, steadfastly overcome countless difficulties to defend the Fatherland, safeguard national independence and freedom, build and develop the country, while making active contributions to maintaining peace and stability and promoting cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Dear comrades and friends,

After more than 40 years of implementing the great Doi Moi (Renewal) process initiated and led by the Communist Party of Vietnam, despite continued complex developments in the regional and global situation, the Vietnamese economy has continued to grow at a relatively high rate, averaging around 7% per year.

In 1986, when Vietnam embarked on the Doi Moi process, it was a poor country, with a per capita income of less than US$100. By 2025, the economy had reached approximately US$514 billion, ranking 32nd in the world, while GDP per capita exceeded US$5,000. The macro-economy remained stable, inflation was kept at 3.31%, and major economic balances were maintained.

Total trade turnover reached a record high of more than US$930 billion, placing Vietnam among the world’s 20 largest trading economies, with a trade surplus of more than US$20 billion. Total registered foreign direct investment reached nearly US$39 billion, while the poverty rate fell to 1.3%.

At the same time, 2025 marked a particularly important milestone in the history of Vietnam’s state administrative reform, with the simultaneous implementation of the largest-ever restructuring and streamlining of the state apparatus and, for the first time, the operation of a two-tier local administration model. This laid an important foundation for renewing national governance, promoting decentralisation and delegation of power, and advancing sustainable development in the new period.

At the beginning of 2026, Vietnam successfully convened the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and held the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly. The 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam also set out its thinking, a long-term vision and strategic decisions to steer the country firmly forward into a new era. These include successfully achieving the country’s development goals for 2030, turning Vietnam into a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle-income status when the Communist Party of Vietnam marks its 100th anniversary (1930–2030); and realising the development vision for 2045, under which Vietnam will become a developed, high-income country pursuing a socialist orientation, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1945–2045).

To realise the 12 orientations, six key tasks and three strategic breakthroughs, the entire Party, armed forces and people of Vietnam have demonstrated determination and made concerted efforts, achieving many significant results. In the first six months of 2026, political stability, national defence and security were maintained; the macro-economy remained broadly stable and inflation was kept under control; infrastructure development made significant breakthroughs; science and technology, innovation and digital transformation continued to make new advances; the cultural and social sectors continued to receive due attention and make further progress. GDP grew by 8.18%, the highest growth rate for the first six months of a year since 2011; total import and export turnover reached US$549.69 billion, up 27.1%; and total registered foreign direct investment exceeded US$34.6 billion, up 61% compared with the same period in 2025.

In terms of foreign affairs and international integration, Vietnam consistently pursues a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance and self-strengthening, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, while multilateralising and diversifying its external relations; proactively contributing to peace, friendship, cooperation and development in the spirit of being a friend, a trusted partner, and an active and responsible member of the international community.

Vietnam has proactively and actively pursued international integration and increasingly engaged in regional and global cooperation mechanisms. Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with 194 countries around the world, including all 193 United Nations Member States; upgraded and elevated relations with six additional countries, bringing the number of partners with which Vietnam has relations at the comprehensive partnership level or above to 45, including all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

Recently, Vietnam successfully hosted a number of major regional and global events, notably the 4th P4G Summit, the Signing Ceremony and High-Level Conference on the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, and the 3rd ASEAN Future Forum in Ha Noi.

In particular, with the confidence and support of the international community, Vietnam was re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2026–2028 term. In 2027, Vietnam will host APEC Year for the third time.

Dear comrades and friends,

Looking back over the more than eight decades, the Vietnamese people have come to appreciate ever more deeply that the achievements we have made today are the result not only of the will, resilience and sacrifices of generations of Vietnamese people, but also of the solidarity, support and valuable assistance of friends around the world, particularly the great, selfless and wholehearted support of the Party, State and people of fraternal Laos.

The Vietnamese people will never forget the assistance provided by the Lao people to Vietnamese cadres and soldiers during the years of war. Likewise, the Lao people will always remember the Vietnamese sons and daughters who fought and sacrificed their lives on Lao soil for the independence and freedom of our two nations. This is the spirit of sharing hardships and standing together as comrades and brothers; a bond tested through adversity and nurtured by the sweat, efforts and blood of generations. Therefore, every achievement Vietnam has attained today bears the valuable contribution of the Lao people. And every step forward in Laos’s development is also a source of joy for the Party, State and people of Vietnam.

On this solemn occasion, on behalf of the Party, State and people of Vietnam, I would like to express our profound gratitude to the Party, State and people of Laos for their solidarity, support and assistance to Vietnam throughout the struggle for national liberation in the past, as well as in the cause of national construction and development today.

I would also like to sincerely thank the Party committees, authorities and people of Lao localities for their continued attention and for creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community living, studying and working in Laos, enabling them to make greater contributions to the prosperous development of Laos and to serve as enduring bridges of friendship between our two peoples.

The relationship between Vietnam and Laos is truly a special one. Its foundations were laid by the great President Ho Chi Minh, the revered President Kaysone Phomvihane and the revered President Souphanouvong, and the relationship has been carefully nurtured by generations of leaders and peoples of our two countries. Forged through the trials of history, this relationship has become an invaluable common asset of our two nations and a great source of strength for the cause of national construction and defence in each country.

In the current period, it is essential that our two countries continue to stand shoulder to shoulder, develop together, strengthen our self-reliance together, and enhance the position of each country in a rapidly changing world. At the end of 2025, Vietnam and Laos agreed to add “strategic cohesion” as a new dimension to their bilateral relations, elevating the framework of the relationship to “Great Friendship, Special Solidarity, Comprehensive Cooperation, Strategic Cohesion.”

“Strategic cohesion” is not merely an addition to the name of the relationship, it represents a qualitative new development in Vietnam–Laos relations. It means cohesion in our long-term vision and development interests; cohesion between the stability, security and development of each country; cohesion between our two economies and development spaces and, most importantly, cohesion in the future of our two nations, founded on independence, self-reliance and mutual benefit.

The political relationship, which serves as the firm anchor of bilateral ties, continues to be consolidated on the basis of close bonds and mutual trust, and remains the core guiding force for the overall relationship between our two countries. The two sides maintain close coordination on matters concerning the security and development of each country. Defence and security cooperation, as a key pillar, has become increasingly close, profound and comprehensive. The two countries continue to coordinate closely and effectively at regional and international forums, contributing to maintaining political stability, social order and public safety in each country, while enhancing the position and prestige of both Vietnam and Laos in the region and on the international stage.

Investment and trade cooperation have received strong attention from both sides and made significant progress, with a growing focus on effectiveness and substantive outcomes. Vietnam remains one of the largest investors and trading partners of Laos, with total registered investment capital exceeding US$7 billion. In the first seven months of 2026 alone, Vietnamese enterprises implemented 18 new investment projects in the Lao market, with total registered capital exceeding US$300 million, 2.2 times higher than in the same period of 2025. Bilateral trade reached approximately US$1.47 billion and continued its positive growth momentum, with Vietnam recording a trade deficit of more than US$635 million.

The two countries now have a major opportunity to make a strong breakthrough in connecting our two economies, particularly through strategic projects such as Vung Ang International Port, the Vientiane–Vung Ang railway, the Ha Noi–Vientiane expressway, energy connectivity and the East–West economic corridors. The long-term goal is to connect our two economies and expand the development space of both countries; enable Laos to better leverage its geoeconomic position and enhance its connectivity with the sea and the region’s economic centres; while creating new production, trade and logistics chains from which both Vietnam and Laos can benefit.

Cooperation in education and training, human resource development and culture continues to receive due attention and carries long-term significance. Thousands of Lao pupils and students, as well as generations of Lao officials trained in Vietnam, are making important contributions to the cause of national construction and development in Laos. At the same time, an increasing number of Vietnamese people are studying, conducting research and working in Laos. These people will carry forward our shared history and bring the special bond between our two peoples into the lives of generations to come.

At the same time, localities of the two countries, together with the Vietnam–Laos Friendship Associations at both central and local levels, continue to organise vibrant cultural and sporting exchanges, serving as important bridges that bring the peoples of the two countries closer together.

Dear comrades and friends,

The world is entering a period of profound change and uncertainty. Yet the value and importance of Vietnam–Laos relations have not diminished; on the contrary, they have become even more significant.

Once again, the Party, State and people of Vietnam affirm that we attach the highest priority to Vietnam–Laos relations and cooperation. The stability, development and success of Laos always carry strategic significance for Vietnam, just as a peaceful, stable and developed Vietnam provides favourable conditions for the cause of national construction and development in Laos.

Despite the complex and unpredictable changes in the regional and global situation, we firmly believe that, under any circumstances, the two Parties, two States and peoples of the two countries will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder; sincerely share experiences; support each other to the fullest; jointly remove bottlenecks in cooperation; and translate our special political trust into concrete development outcomes. In this way, Vietnam–Laos relations will be special not only because of their history, but also because of the effectiveness of our cooperation and the tangible benefits that these relations bring to the peoples of our two countries today and for generations to come.

That is also the best way for the generations of today to preserve and pass on to generations to come the invaluable asset that the forefathers of our two nations built through immense effort and sacrifice. I am firmly confident that the special solidarity between Vietnam and Laos will be “deeper than the waters of the Red River and the Mekong”, “more enduring than the mountains and rivers” and “more fragrant than the most fragrant of flowers” as the leaders of our two countries have always wished.

On this solemn occasion, I sincerely wish the Party, State and fraternal Lao people continued success and even greater achievements, and every success in implementing the Resolution of the 12th National Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and the 10th Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan.

I wish the Lao nation ever greater prosperity, strength and development; may the fraternal Lao people enjoy increasingly prosperous and happy lives; and may the role and position of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic continue to be enhanced in the region and the world.

May the Great Friendship, Special Solidarity, Comprehensive Cooperation and Strategic Cohesion between Vietnam and Laos remain ever fresh and flourishing, endure for generations, and stand the test of time.

Thank you very much, dear comrades and friends.

Nguyen Minh Tam

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

KPL