Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyễn Minh Tâm in an interview with Vietnam News Agency. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyễn Minh Tâm has underscored the growing role of local-level connectivity as a key driver of stronger economic cooperation, investment and people-to-people exchanges between Việt Nam and Laos, making bilateral ties more practical and effective.

Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the 22nd National Conference on Foreign Affairs, Tâm said cooperation between localities had become one of the most important forces deepening the special relationship between the two neighbouring countries.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos would continue to place businesses and localities at the centre of its economic diplomacy efforts, helping translate the shared vision of strategic connectivity into concrete outcomes.

According to the ambassador, during the first six months of 2026, the embassy carried out a wide range of economic diplomacy activities aimed at promoting investment and trade, supporting businesses and strengthening links between Vietnamese and Lao localities. These efforts have helped implement high-level agreements reached by the two countries' leaders while laying a stronger foundation for broader and more effective bilateral cooperation.

The embassy has actively promoted the implementation of agreements reached by the senior leaders of the two Parties and States through regular exchanges with Lao ministries, agencies and local authorities. It has also coordinated inspections of bilateral cooperation projects to promptly address obstacles and ensure timely and effective implementation.

Investment promotion and business support have also been stepped up. In the first half of the year, the embassy assisted Vietnamese enterprises in exploring investment opportunities in Laos across sectors including energy, mining, agriculture, electric vehicle manufacturing and medical biotechnology. It also facilitated visits by businesses and major corporations seeking opportunities in emerging fields linked to the green transition, digital transformation and sustainable development.

"The most encouraging outcome has been the increase in investment and trade, along with the growing number of projects that have overcome implementation bottlenecks," Tâm said.

"This provides an important foundation for Việt Nam–Laos economic ties to evolve from traditional cooperation to increasingly deeper, more substantive and more effective development partnerships."

Beyond economic diplomacy, local-level cooperation continues to serve as one of the most important channels of bilateral collaboration.

The embassy has actively promoted partnerships between Vietnamese and Lao localities in education, healthcare, culture, irrigation, infrastructure development and social welfare. Working closely with Lao authorities and the Association of Vietnamese Businesses in Laos, it has also helped promote the strengths, investment potential and export products of localities from both countries, thereby expanding business links and economic cooperation.

Looking ahead to the second half of 2026, Tâm said the embassy would pursue a more proactive, practical and results-oriented approach, focusing on accelerating the implementation of high-level agreements, strengthening coordination among ministries, sectors and localities, and ensuring that political commitments are translated into tangible cooperation outcomes.

"The embassy will continue to work proactively and closely with businesses and local authorities, placing them at the centre of our efforts to deliver practical and effective economic diplomacy," he said.

The embassy will maintain regular dialogue with the Vietnamese business community in Laos while coordinating closely with Lao ministries, agencies and local authorities to promptly resolve difficulties facing investors. It will also organise business forums, investment promotion conferences and trade networking events.

Tâm said the embassy would prioritise strategic cross-border infrastructure projects, describing them as one of the key pillars of the two countries' strategic connectivity. It would also seek to expand cooperation in emerging areas such as the digital economy, digital transformation, green growth, renewable energy, innovation and high-quality human resource development.

Regarding local cooperation, he said the embassy would continue supporting provinces, particularly border localities and twinned provinces, in increasing official exchanges, strengthening business connectivity, promoting investment potential and developing deeper cooperation programmes in high-tech agriculture, value-added processing, logistics, tourism, the green economy, digital transformation and workforce training.

"Border provinces, in particular, deserve greater attention so they can become new growth poles and important economic gateways connecting our two countries," he said.

He added that alongside promoting aid projects and symbolic works reflecting the Việt Nam–Laos special relationship, the embassy would continue serving as a bridge, a strategic adviser and a trusted partner for businesses and localities.

These efforts would help bring high-level agreements into practice, realise the vision of strategic connectivity and further strengthen economic cooperation as one of the key pillars of bilateral relations in the new stage of development. — VNS