General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith holds talks with Party General Secretary Tô Lâm on Monday. VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Laos have agreed to deepen their bilateral ties by strengthening economic, infrastructure, financial–banking and tourism connectivity and by implementing effective measures to raise two-way trade to US$5 billion in the near term, with a longer-term target of US$10 billion.

The consensus was reached on Monday during talks between Party General Secretary Lâm and General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, following a welcome ceremony held with full State honours.

Party General Secretary and President Thongloun warmly welcomed General Secretary Lâm and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation on their two-day State visit.

General Secretary Lâm expressed his pleasure at visiting Laos on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Lao National Day and the 105th birth anniversary of President Kaysone Phomvihane. He reaffirmed that Việt Nam consistently places its special solidarity with Laos at the highest priority in its foreign policy.

The visit, he said, also provides an opportunity for both sides to reaffirm their determination to build a new vision and elevate Việt Nam–Laos relations to a higher level of development, with deeper political trust and new breakthroughs in cooperation across all fields.

He congratulated Laos on its significant and historic achievements over 40 years of national renewal under the leadership of the LPRP, expressing confidence that the country will successfully realise the goals set by the 11th Party Congress and prepare for a successful 12th Congress.

During their talks, the two leaders exchanged in-depth views on the situation in each country. General Secretary Lâm briefed the Lao leader on Việt Nam’s comprehensive progress, including major reforms to streamline and consolidate the political system nationwide.

Both leaders expressed satisfaction with the steady strengthening of the special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between their countries. Collaboration between Party bodies, ministries and agencies, parliaments, fronts, mass organisations and localities continues to expand. Cooperation among border provinces has also grown, contributing to solid security and order along the shared border.

The two sides affirmed that their close and trusted political ties continue to be reinforced through frequent high-level exchanges and effective cooperation mechanisms in various fields. They agreed to effectively implement high-level agreements, particularly those reached at the 2025 high-level meeting between the two Parties and the third summit of the top leaders of the three Parties of Việt Nam, Laos and Cambodia.

Both sides committed to maximising the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms, deepening relations between the two Parties and states and coordinating closely to support major political events in each country, including their respective upcoming Party Congresses, thereby reaffirming the strong political foundation of Việt Nam–Laos ties.

They also agreed to continue innovating and strengthening communication and education efforts on the special Việt Nam–Laos relationship among officials, Party members, citizens and the younger generations of both countries.

The leaders underscored that defence and security cooperation has become increasingly substantive and remains a key pillar of bilateral relations, contributing to a stable and sustainable shared border. They agreed to further strengthen defence–security collaboration, coordinate closely in responding to increasingly complex security challenges and link national defence and security with socio-economic development.

Both sides also agreed to enhance economic, infrastructure, financial–banking and tourism connectivity, expand transport, energy and logistics links and share experience in macro-economic management and anti-corruption efforts.

They committed to advancing agreements supporting the development of independent and self-reliant national economies, intensifying institutional reform and working closely to remove bottlenecks and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to effectively implement and expand investment projects in Laos. They also pledged to jointly supervise the implementation of aid-funded projects to ensure timely, effective and high-quality outcomes.

The two leaders agreed to build strong momentum in economic, cultural and scientific–technical cooperation, facilitate links in transport, electricity, telecommunications and tourism, improve the quality of education, training and human resources, particularly high-quality personnel, and promote people-to-people exchanges and ties between localities. This should be identified as strategic pillars that strengthen long-term solidarity between the two nations.

Recognising the fast-evolving and complex global landscape, the leaders emphasised continued coordination on international and regional issues, mutual support at multilateral forums and within ASEAN, and protection of each other’s legitimate interests in line with international law, including on matters related to the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea), which affects regional and global peace, stability and cooperation.

Following their talks, the leaders witnessed the signing of 12 key cooperation documents between ministries, sectors, localities and relevant agencies of the two countries, creating a legal foundation and fresh momentum for deepening and strengthening Việt Nam–Laos cooperation in the new period.

General Secretary Lâm extended an invitation to General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith and his spouse to visit Việt Nam at a suitable time. President Thongloun expressed sincere thanks and accepted the invitation with pleasure. — VNS