National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man holds talks with Lao National Assembly Chairman

Immediately after the welcoming ceremony, the two National Assembly Chairmen held talks.

National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane warmly welcomed National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly to officially visit Laos and attend the 45th AIPA General Assembly chaired by the Lao National Assembly; highly appreciated the significance of Comrade Tran Thanh Man's first official visit to Laos in his capacity as National Assembly Chairman.

The Lao National Assembly Chairman believes that the visit will help strengthen and foster the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in general and the good cooperation between the two legislative bodies in particular, so that they will increasingly deepen and bear fruit.

The Lao National Assembly Chairman stated that the high-level delegation led by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man attending the 45th AIPA General Assembly is a strong encouragement for the host country Laos, an important contribution to the success of this General Assembly, and helps to continue to foster and strengthen relations between the two countries.

The Lao National Assembly Chairman highly appreciated and thanked Vietnam for its support for Laos in 2024 when Laos assumes the role of ASEAN Chair and AIPA Chair; especially the Vietnamese National Assembly's support for the Lao National Assembly in successfully organizing the 45th AIPA General Assembly.

The Lao National Assembly Chairman sympathized with the Party, State and people of Vietnam over the heavy losses caused by storm No. 3 (storm Yagi) and its circulation in the northern provinces of Vietnam; expressed his firm belief that, under the leadership and close attention of the Party, National Assembly and Government of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people will overcome all difficulties and soon stabilize their lives.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man thanked the Lao National Assembly Chairman and Lao leaders and deputies for giving the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly a warm, respectful, thoughtful and fraternal welcome.

On this occasion, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man respectfully conveyed the greetings and best wishes of General Secretary, President To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam to National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane and other Lao leaders; congratulated Laos on successfully assuming the role of ASEAN Chair and AIPA Chair in 2024, and successfully organizing the ASEAN Summits.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man congratulated Laos on the great, comprehensive and historic achievements after nearly 40 years of renovation; highly appreciated the important results that the Lao Party, State and people have achieved in implementing the Resolution of the 11th Party Congress and the 9th Five-Year Socio-Economic Development Plan (2021-2025); firmly believed that, under the wise leadership of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, Laos will successfully organize the 12th National Congress in early 2026 and successfully complete national development strategies.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man also informed the Lao National Assembly Chairman about Vietnam's socio-economic situation in the first 9 months of 2024. The Vietnamese National Assembly is preparing conditions to organize the 8th Session, which will open on October 21.

Regarding the bilateral relationship, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed that Vietnam has consistently given the highest priority to the special and "unique" traditional relationship with Laos, always standing side by side and strongly and comprehensively supporting Laos's efforts to protect, build, innovate and develop.

Vietnam always appreciates the sentiments, support and valuable contributions of generations of leaders and the brotherly Lao people, constantly cultivating the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos.

The two National Assembly Chairmen agreed that the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, which was cultivated by President Ho Chi Minh, President Kaysone Phomvihane and Prince Souphanouvong, and generations of leaders of the two Parties, two States and peoples, has been tempered through many challenges, and forged by the efforts and blood of many generations of heroic martyrs, has become a priceless asset of the two peoples.

The two National Assembly Chairmen expressed their delight at the good results of cooperation between the two Parties and countries. Most recently, the Politburoes of the two countries held a meeting to evaluate the results of cooperation between the two Parties and countries in recent times, and agreed on major orientations for the Vietnam-Laos cooperative relationship in the coming time.

Delegation exchanges, contacts and bilateral cooperation mechanisms between the two countries are maintained and effectively implemented.

National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane congratulated Vietnam on its great and comprehensive achievements in national construction and development according to the Resolution of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the 5-year socio-economic development plan for the 2021-2025 period, especially Vietnam's recent consolidation of important leadership positions in the political system and state apparatus.

Regarding trade and investment cooperation, the two National Assembly Chairmen agreed that relations in this field are still modest and not commensurate with the good political relations and cooperation potential between the two countries.

The Chairman of the Lao National Assembly stated that Vietnam is among the top countries investing in Laos with about 241 projects and a total investment capital of about 5.47 billion USD.

The Chairman of the Lao National Assembly proposed that the Vietnamese National Assembly support the promotion of economic cooperation between the two countries, especially increasing two-way trade turnover in the coming time.

Expressing his impression of Vietnam's achievements in agricultural development, including many products with high economic value, the Lao National Assembly Chairman wished Vietnam to share its experience in this field.

The two National Assembly Chairmen assessed that the cooperation between the two countries' legislative bodies is developing well in both breadth and depth.

The two sides are actively coordinating and implementing the Cooperation Agreement between the two National Assemblies signed in May 2022. Exchanges of high-level delegations and National Assembly agencies are maintained regularly; active consultation and mutual support at international and regional inter-parliamentary forums; and coordination in organizing seminars and thematic talks within the framework of visits by leaders of the two countries' National Assemblies.

In particular, the two sides have also organized joint supervision of important and strategic economic cooperation projects, promoting the spirit of supreme supervisory responsibility of each country's National Assembly.

The two National Assembly Chairmen highly appreciated the visit to Laos by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh in July 2024 and the visit to Vietnam by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Sommad Pholsena in September 2024, in which the two sides shared experiences and practical lessons in amending the Constitution and laws to serve development requirements in the new period; and in building and implementing socio-economic development policies.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed that Vietnam is ready to share experiences with Laos in building and amending the Constitution and laws.

Regarding the book “50 years of relations between the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the National Assembly of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic - Comprehensive cooperation for development”, the two National Assembly Chairmen suggested that the two sides coordinate in research and speed up the compilation process to summarize the development process, achievements and lessons learned to improve the effectiveness of cooperation between the two National Assemblies in the new period; widely disseminate and raise awareness of the people of the two countries about the close relationship between the two National Assemblies of Vietnam and Laos.

To promote cooperation between the two legislative bodies, the two National Assembly Chairmen agreed that it is necessary to continue to carry out exchange activities and share experiences in areas of mutual interest, especially in building and perfecting institutions and legal systems, supreme supervision and deciding on important issues of the country; and to carry out cooperation activities between the National Assembly's Committees and agencies in many flexible forms.

At the same time, closely coordinate and jointly monitor the implementation of bilateral agreements; strengthen supervision and promote investment cooperation projects, propose solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles, and create favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to invest and do business in Laos.

The two National Assembly Chairmen proposed that both sides promote the improvement of institutions and policies to facilitate the effective implementation of high-level agreements of the two countries' Politburoes and cooperation between the two Governments.

In addition, strengthening solidarity, close coordination, and mutual support at regional and international forums, especially at the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), the Francophone Parliamentary Union (APF)... contributes to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for development.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man hopes that the legislative bodies of the two countries will further promote their roles to spread the strengths of cooperation in politics, defense and security to the economic and other fields; have cooperation mechanisms to join hands with the Government, all levels and sectors to resolve and remove difficulties, creating momentum to promote the continued development of the relationship between the two countries.

Immediately after the talks, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Lao National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane witnessed the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lao National Assembly; and the Memorandum of Understanding on establishing friendly cooperation relations between Hoi An city, Quang Nam province (Vietnam) and Luang Prabang city, Luang Prabang province (Laos).