Party General Secretary, State President Tô Lâm and General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee (LPRP), President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith before their official talks in Hà Nội on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

HÀ NỘI — Party General Secretary, State President Tô Lâm on Tuesday held talks with his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith, highlighting that the latter’s visit has an exceptional significance in terms of the cooperation between the two parties and governments.

The two countries will continue their work to further promote the relations and unity between Việt Nam, Laos and Cambodia, said the Vietnamese leader.

Sisoulith, who is serving as the General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee (LPRP) and President of Laos, expressed appreciation for the warm welcome and underlined that Việt Nam and Laos relations are a unique “camaraderie and brotherhood.”

He congratulated Lâm on his election as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee and also sent his condolences on the passing of the late Party leader Nguyễn Phú Trọng and the impacts of Typhoon Yagi on the Vietnamese people.

Under the leadership of the Party and the state, he believed that Việt Nam would continue its great achievements in the nearly 40 years of Đổi Mới (Renewal) with socio-economic stability, progressive economic growth and improved quality of life. Việt Nam’s success was a source of motivation and a role model for Laos on its own path of development, said Sisoulith.

Party General Secretary and President Tô Lâm also sent his congratulations on Laos’ significant development progress in all aspects, particularly in its diplomatic activities as the current Chair of ASEAN.

He underlined that Việt Nam maintained its support for Laos’ Party, State and people to continue their achievements and to fulfil its role as the 2024 ASEAN Chair.

The Vietnamese and Lao top leaders during the meeting in Hà Nội on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

The two country leaders also gave high regard to the mutual assistance between their parties, governments and people throughout their respective fight for national liberation and unity in the past, as well as national development today.

Continuing on the legacy of their late leaders Hồ Chí Minh and Kaysone Phomvihane, the Việt Nam-Laos ties hold strategic significance to growth and stability in each country and will be elevated to be more practical and effective in all aspects for the benefit of their people as well as the region and the world.

The Vietnamese and Lao top leaders also expressed satisfaction at the progress in the relations between the two parties, governments and their comprehensive cooperation in recent years.

The two countries will continue to promote their political relations through increasing mutual understanding and trust, maintaining high-level exchanges between Party and state officials and enhancing information exchange on strategic and emerging issues, while also promoting education on the traditional relations between them.

Việt Nam and Laos also agreed to strengthen the cooperation in national defence and security, ensuring mutual support for effective response in the face of complicated security challenges.

On this matter, they also plan to effectively execute cooperation plans and protocols to ensure political stability in each country.

The Vietnamese and Lao top leaders review the guard of honour of the Vietnam People's Army at the welcome ceremony prior to the official talks. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

Lâm and Sisoulith share the same perspective on increasing effectiveness and breakthroughs in economic, cultural and science-technology cooperation by leveraging Việt Nam’s and Laos’ respective strengths and potential.

Other areas of focus include fostering practical connections between the two economies in terms of institutions, infrastructure, transportation, telecommunications and tourism, with a long-term vision for cooperation and development and promoting connections between the Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian economies according to the agreement between their governments.

The two top leaders also agreed to maintain effective information exchange and assessment of the global situation, while protecting each other’s legitimate interests in line with international laws.

These include the issues in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea), sustainable use of the Mekong River’s water resources and the mutual support, coordination and consultation on regional and international issues and activities at multilateral forums. — VNS