Vietnamese defence minister Phan Văn Giang (left) and Lao counterpart Khamliang Outhakaysone reviewed the guard of honour during the official welcome ceremony for the latter in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đức

HÀ NỘI — Defence Minister Phan Văn Giang held talks with his Lao counterpart Khamliang Outhakaysone on December 18 during the latter's official visit to Việt Nam and attendance at the Việt Nam International Defence Expo 2024.

Minister Giang congratulated Laos on its successful organisation of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM), the ADMM-Plus, and other related meetings between ASEAN defence ministers and their partners. He noted that these events have significantly contributed to the success of Laos’ ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024, further enhancing ASEAN’s solidarity, centrality, and Laos’ international standing.

Minister Outhakaysone extended his congratulations to the Việt Nam People’s Army (VPA) on its 80th founding anniversary and highlighted the VPA's remarkable growth.

Both sides acknowledged that Việt Nam-Laos defence cooperation, particularly the implementation of the protocol on defence cooperation for the 2020–24 period, has yielded significant and substantive outcomes in recent years,

Highlights include a higher level of strategic political trust, stronger solidarity between the armed forces of both countries, more diverse cooperation mechanisms and formats, strengthened security and order along the shared border, and greater focus on human resource training with improvements in both quality and quantity. Cooperation in building defence capacity and the defence industry has become more targeted and effective.

Both ministers praised the successful organisation of the second Việt Nam-Laos Defence Border Friendship Exchange in October 2024, which created a positive ripple effect, fostering solidarity and mutual support between the Parties, States, armed forces, local governments, and people of Việt Nam and Laos.

Looking ahead, the two ministers committed to the comprehensive and effective implementation of the protocol on defence cooperation for the 2025–29 period and the 2025 cooperation plan. Key priorities include enhancing the effectiveness of the defence policy dialogue mechanism and maintaining the annual trilateral meeting of the defence ministers of Việt Nam, Laos, and Cambodia.

Collaboration on Party and political work will be strengthened with an emphasis on promoting awareness of history, significance, and importance of the special Việt Nam-Laos relationship. The two sides will work closely together to advance cooperation in training, human resource development, and border management

Following the talks, the two defence ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in military and defence law. — VNS