Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Gia Túc (right) welcomes Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Khamphan Phommathat in Hà Nội on Monday. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Gia Túc on Monday received Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Khamphan Phommathat, who is on a working visit to Việt Nam and attending the 7th justice conference of Vietnamese and Lao border provinces.

Túc said Việt Nam is making thorough preparations for the conference, expressing confidence that his guest's visit will help further strengthen the special Việt Nam – Laos relations.

He congratulated Phommathat on his appointment as Lao Deputy PM and Minister of Justice, noting the importance of the judicial sector as Laos is advancing government restructuring, reforming its local administration system, building an independent and self-reliant economy, and strengthening the rule-of-law state.

The host highly valued the outcomes of the recent official visit to Việt Nam by Lao PM Sonexay Siphandone and his participation in the third ASEAN Future Forum on June 7–9. He also praised more than four decades of increasingly substantive cooperation between the two justice ministries, which has contributed to the fruitful implementation of the high-level agreements reached by the two Parties and States.

As the two countries are working together to realise the new dimension of “strategic cohesion” in their relations, the Permanent Deputy PM called on the two ministries to strengthen coordination in implementing bilateral agreements, share experience and submit proposals to the two Parties and Governments regarding legal and institutional reform, and work closely to remove policy and mechanism bottlenecks in order to facilitate the implementation of key cooperation projects.

He also urged deeper collaboration to promote comprehensive digital transformation in the judicial sector, develop high-quality legal professionals, and enhance partnerships in judicial digitalisation and international legal expert training.

In addition, Túc stressed the importance of maintaining and improving the effectiveness of the justice conference, thereby promoting judicial cooperation in tandem with sustainable socio-economic development in border areas.

For his part, Phommathat briefed the host on recent developments in Laos’ legal and judicial affairs and highlighted cooperation between the two justice ministries, particularly in jointly organising the seventh conference. He noted that the event provides an important platform for legal and judicial expertise sharing, helping create more favourable conditions for the two sides' authorities, people and businesses to strengthen cross-border cooperation, travel and development activities.

The Lao Deputy PM expressed his hope that Vietnamese leaders, including Permanent Deputy PM Túc, will continue supporting cooperation between the two ministries.

He reaffirmed Laos’ commitment to working closely with the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice to effectively implement bilateral cooperation programmes and projects, including the rotational organisation of future justice conferences. — VNA/VNS