LPRP General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith and CPV General Secretary Tô Lâm witness the exchange of cooperation document between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the Lao Ministry of National Defence. VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

VIENTIANE — Vietnamese Party General Secretary Tô Lâm, and Party General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith on Monday witnessed the exchange of bilateral cooperation documents between the two countries' ministries, agencies and localities, following their talks the same day.

This is part of activities within the Vietnamese Party chief’s two-day state visit to Laos, where he will attend a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Lao National Day and co-chair a high-level meeting between the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.

The documents include a 2026 cooperation plan between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and its Lao counterpart, an agreement between the two ministries on building a command centre of the Lao Ministry of Public Security, a 2026 cooperation plan between the two Ministries of National Defence, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the Lao Ministry of National Defence on building a Việt Nam - Laos friendship road, and cooperation agreements between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and the two Ministries of Justice in the next five years.

Others are an MoU on cooperation in key banking activities in 2026-2030; another between the two Ministries of Industry and Trade on developing industrial linkage chains; cooperation agreements between Việt Nam Television and the LPRP’s Commission for Propaganda and Training, between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Việt Nam and the Lao Party Central Committee's External Relations Commission, and between Việt Nam’s Thanh Hoá Province and Houaphanh Province of Laos; and an MoU on strengthening cooperation in socio-economic development, ensuring national defence and border security between the People's Committee of Đà Nẵng City, and Sekong province of Laos for the next five years.

In recent years, alongside strengthened cooperation in politics, defence, and security, the two countries have made strong efforts to elevate and create breakthroughs and great strides in economic cooperation, especially the effective implementation of key connectivity projects, especially in transport, energy, trade, investment, high-quality human resource training, and sustainable supply chains.

Trade and investment ties have maintained robust growth, with two-way trade in the first ten months of 2025 hitting nearly US$2.5 billion, surging by 50.4 per cent from 2024, elevating Việt Nam to Laos’ third-largest trading partner. The two countries are striving toward the targets of $5 billion and, in the longer term, $10 billion in two-way trade.

Regarding investment, Việt Nam currently has 274 projects in Laos with a total registered capital of over $5.8 billion. Newly operational transport-infrastructure projects connecting the two countries mark important progress in strategic development spatial linkage, helping drive shared development in the near future.

Cooperation in other fields, including education and training, culture, transport, energy, and agriculture, has also progressed with promising outcomes. People-to-people exchanges and growing ties between localities of the two countries are further deepening mutual understanding and strengthening connections, particularly among young people. — VNA/VNS