(KPL/VNA) State President Luong Cuong reiterated the Vietnamese Party and State’s consistent policy of further consolidating and strengthening the great friendship and comprehensive cooperation with the Lao Party and country during his meeting in Vientiane on April 25 with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.

President Cuong congratulated the Lao Party, State, and people on their political stability and positive economic growth, believing that under the leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) led by Party General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith, the drastic direction of the PM, and the support of the National Assembly, the fraternal country will successfully realise the Resolution of the 11th National Party Congress, move toward a successful 12th National Party Congress, and achieve goals its 9th five-year socio-economic development plan.

He once again extended heartfelt condolences to the Lao Party, State, and people, as well as the PM and his family on the recent passing of Khamtay Siphandone, former LPRP President, former President of Laos, and father of the current PM.

Informing the host about his highly successful talks with Party General Secretary and President of Laos Sisoulith a day earlier, Cuong affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to share its development experience with Laos, particularly in streamlining organisational structures to ensure a compact, efficient, and effective apparatus at both central and local levels.

PM Siphandone warmly welcomed President Cuong on his first state visit to Laos in his new role, hailing the visit as a reflection of the special importance Vietnam attaches to the bilateral relationship.

Impressed by the remarkable and comprehensive achievements recently made by the Vietnamese Party, State, and people, he lauded these successes as a great source of encouragement and inspiration for Laos in its own cause of national construction, defence and development.

Both leaders agreed to further foster political trust through the continued exchange of high-level visits, bilateral cooperation mechanisms across various sectors and the effective implementation of high-level agreements, particularly the outcomes of the September 2024 meeting between the two Politburos, the meeting between the Vietnamese and Lao Party chiefs on the occasion of the February 2025 meeting between the Party General Secretaries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and the 47th session of the Vietnam–Laos Inter-Governmental Committee, with practical and effective solutions to innovate cooperation methods and elevate bilateral ties.

Highlighting the shared aspiration to make economic, trade, and investment cooperation a true pillar of the relationship, both sides reaffirmed their goal of achieving 5 billion USD in two-way trade in the coming years, with a targeted increase of 10–15% in 2025. They pledged joint efforts to accelerate key agreed-upon joint and connectivity projects, especially in transport and energy, such as the Hanoi - Vientiane expressway and the Vientiane – Vung Ang railway.

The two sides pledged to further strengthen the pillar of national defence - security cooperation, grounded in the common goals of building peaceful and stable nations, focusing on the joint fight against terrorism and cross-border crimes, particularly drug trafficking; as well as the search, collection and repatriation of the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who sacrificed their lives in Laos.

Education - training, sci-tech, healthcare, culture, and locality-to-locality and people-to-people exchanges in border areas, and awareness campaigns about the special, time - honoured bilateral relationship among the younger generation were identified as areas for enhanced collaboration.

On the occasion, Cuong called on the Lao side to continue offering all possible support to the Vietnamese community in Laos.

On global and regional issues, host and guest committed to more information sharing and mutual consultation to present an unified stance on matters of shared concern.

KPL