Participants at the conference in Vientiane on Friday to review the progress of a project on building a resident and citizen identity management system in Laos. — VNA/VNS Photo

VIENTIANE — Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Public Security, Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Long and his Lao counterpart Senior Lieutenant General Khamking Phuilamanyvong co-chaired a conference in Vientiane on Friday to review the progress of a project on building a resident and citizen identity management system in Laos.

The Vietnamese official led a delegation of the Ministry of Public Security on a working visit to Laos from December 19-20.

In his speech, Long emphasised the strategic importance of the project to the two countries' cooperation, saying that it aims to not only modernise social governance but also demonstrate both sides' determination to tighten their friendship.

He noted during the project implementation, the two ministries have agreed on many important aspects. Notably, the project approval decisions were issued, creating favourable conditions for developing resident data towards providing personal identity numbers to Lao citizens in March 2025.

He affirmed that these achievements show the close and consistent leadership of the two states, as well as the effective coordination between the two ministries to ensure the project progress and quality.

Long suggested the Lao Ministry of Public Security give advice to the Lao Government to establish a committee for consistently steering this work from central to local levels, and assign responsibility directly to heads of local police agencies.

The official proposed temporary decisions be issued to create a legal framework and then fine-tune legal documents to secure the legal system's consistency. He also highlighted the importance of upgrading infrastructure to ensure the interoperability of systems.

Phuilamanyvong acknowledged the significant support from the Vietnamese ministry in supporting its Lao peer in implementing the project, suggesting the two sides enhance their coordination, regularly share information and analyse data to improve data and digital infrastructure policies.

The project helps Lao improve state management, protect its national security, and benefit the Lao people, he stressed, adding that it also contributes to the elevation of the Laos - Việt Nam relationship to a new level.

On December 19 afternoon, the Vietnamese delegation paid a courtesy visit to General Vilay Lakhamphong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security of Laos. — VNS