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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandone, Vientiane, January 9, 2025 - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac |
The agreement was reached by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandone at the 47th meeting of the Viet Nam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee held in Vientiane on Thursday.
Last year, the two-way trade increased by nearly 34 percent compared to 2023, with Laos enjoying a trade surplus of around US$732.7 million, up 30 percent year-on-year.
On investment, Viet Nam has poured US$5.7 billion in 267 active projects in Laos, of which the disbursed volume reached approximately US$2.8 billion.
Regarding major cooperation orientations in 2025, the two Prime Ministers agreed to further intensify defense-security and economic cooperation and to continue to give special priority to education and training cooperation. The Vietnamese Government will continue to offer 1,160 scholarships to Laos and send teachers to Laos to teach Vietnamese in the neighboring country.
Both sides will work together to strengthen the connectivity of the two economies, accelerate progress of Viet Nam's investment projects in Laos, consider agriculture and rural development cooperation as a key pillar of bilateral economic cooperation, mobilize resources to implement the Ha Noi-Vientiane expressway project and Vung Ang-Vientiane railway project in a bid to transform Laos from a landlocked country into a land-linked country.
The two sides will mull over the possibility of building industrial parks, economic zones, and cross-border economic models, petrol storage facilities in border areas; strengthen cultural cooperation and tourism connectivity.
On the occasion, the two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of the Minute of the 47th meeting of the Viet Nam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee, the Agreement on cooperation plan between the Government of Viet Nam and the Government of Laos for 2025, the Agreement between the two Governments on coal purchase, and the Plan on cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Training of Viet Nam and the Ministry of Education and Sports of Laos./.
