Vietnamese Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng (right) meets with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone on the sidelines of the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the Philippines, on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photos

CEBU — Vietnamese Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng on Friday met with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the sidelines of the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the Philippines.

Meeting with his Lao counterpart, PM Hưng affirmed that the Vietnamese Government will work closely with PM Sonexay and the Lao Government to effectively implement agreements reached by the two countries’ high-ranking leaders, outcomes of visits by senior leaders of the two Parties and States, and the results of the 48th meeting of the Vietnam–Laos Intergovernmental Committee, thereby creating new momentum for bilateral cooperation.

PM Sonexay expressed his pleasure at meeting PM Hưng on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, saying the meeting reflected the importance both sides attach to exchanges on measures and orientations to further strengthen the great friendship, special solidarity, and strategic cohesion between the two countries.

PM Sonexay expressed confidence that under the leadership of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm, PM Hưng, together with the Vietnamese Party and Government, will lead Việt Nam to achieve many accomplishments, fulfill its development goals, and become a high-income developed country.

The Lao PM extended his regards to Party General Secretary and President Tô Lâm, National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn, Permanent Member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Trần Cẩm Tú, and other Vietnamese leaders, while inviting PM Hưng to pay an official visit to Laos at an early date.

Thanking Việt Nam for its active and effective support to Laos over the past time, including sending experts to assist Laos in formulating socio-economic development plans and helping the country cope with the energy crisis caused by the Middle East conflict, PM Sonexay said this also presents an opportunity for the two countries to strengthen cooperation in renewable and clean energy development, reduce dependence on imported fuels, and move towards energy self-reliance and security.

He added that the Lao Government has been actively and urgently directing the implementation of high-level agreements between the two countries, focusing on key strategic cooperation projects with Việt Nam in infrastructure development, such as the Vientiane–Vũng Áng railway and the Vientiane–Vinh expressway, as well as in energy security cooperation. He agreed that the two countries’ joint committee should review the implementation progress of these projects and report to their leaders.

PM Hưng stressed that Việt Nam always gives the top priority to the Việt Nam–Laos relationship and will continue joining Laos in nurturing and deepening bilateral cooperation in a sustainable and practical manner for the benefit of the two countries' people.

To further concretise the “Việt Nam–Laos strategic cohesion” framework, the Vietnamese PM proposed that both sides continue improving the effectiveness of cooperation mechanisms, strengthen review, inspection and supervision work, and require ministries, sectors, localities and enterprises of both countries to show greater responsibility in implementing strategic cooperation projects linking the two economies, especially in transport and energy.

The two PMs also agreed on several orientations for future cooperation, including strengthening political trust, maintaining exchanges of high-level and all-level delegations and cooperation mechanisms, and coordinating in preparing for activities marking the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam–Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 2027.

They also agreed to further promote the security-defence cooperation pillar; create breakthroughs in economic, trade and investment cooperation in the spirit of “strategic cohesion”, prioritising key transport and energy infrastructure projects; renew cooperation in education and human resources training in a more practical and effective direction. They consented to pay greater attention to locality-to-locality cooperation, especially in border areas; closely coordinate at regional and international forums; and improve the effectiveness of Việt Nam–Laos–Cambodia trilateral cooperation mechanisms, particularly meetings among the leaders of the three Parties and Governments and trilateral meetings on the sidelines of ASEAN summits.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng (left) meets with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

During his meeting with PM Hưng, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he always respects President Hồ Chí Minh and admires Việt Nam’s struggle for national independence. He expressed his impression of Việt Nam’s economic growth and the Government’s efforts to advance science and technology development as a new growth driver, affirming that Malaysia considers Việt Nam an important partner and wishes to further strengthen bilateral ties.

PM Anwar also respectfully invited PM Hưng to visit Malaysia soon to continue discussions on orientations for enhancing bilateral relations.

For his part, the Vietnamese Government leader thanked PM Anwar for his good sentiments towards Việt Nam and appreciated the early establishment of economic relations between Malaysian businesses and banks and Vietnamese peers through many successful projects. He affirmed that Việt Nam’s foreign policy is to attach importance to relations with Malaysia and expressed his hope that both sides will work closely together to advance the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established in November 2024.

Discussing measures to promote bilateral ties in the coming time, the two leaders agreed to continue strengthening strategic trust through high-level and all-level delegation exchanges, expand trade and investment cooperation, and actively implement cooperation projects in energy, oil and gas, science and technology, digital transformation, innovation and artificial intelligence.

They also consented to promote electricity trading cooperation through the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) and trilateral cooperation among Việt Nam, Malaysia and Singapore.

On this occasion, the two sides exchanged views on several regional and international issues of mutual concern. — VNA/VNS