HÀ NỘI — Chairwoman of the Lao National Assembly Pany Yathotou lauded Việt Nam’s organisation of the second DPRK-USA Summit, which, she said, contributed to building peace in the region and the world and improving the country’s role and position in the international arena.

Yathotou, who is on a working visit to Việt Nam, made the statement at a meeting with her Vietnamese counterpart Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

She told the host that her working visit to Việt Nam this time was a chance for both sides to review the implementation of the two legislatures’ memorandum of understanding on cooperation over the past two years.

The visit is a follow-up to the meeting between the two Political Bureaus, and the 41st session of the Việt Nam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committee co-chaired by the two Prime Ministers at the beginning of 2019.

Through high-level meetings and visits, collaboration between localities and joint conferences, Laos had received support and learnt from experience of Việt Nam’s National Assembly and localities, thus helping improve the quality of its operations as well as inspection over the implementation of socio-economic development plans and law enforcement of the legislative body and People’s Councils of Laos, she stated.

The top Lao legislator thanked the Vietnamese Party, State and people for the gift of a new office building for the Lao National Assembly, adding that the project was being constructed on schedule.

Congratulating Laos on its great achievements in all aspects, Ngân voiced her belief that under the sound leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, the direction of the Government, and the supervision of the National Assembly, Lao people would reap more fruits and successfully fulfill targets set in the 10th National Party Congress’s resolution and the 2016-20 socio-economic development plan.

Regarding the partnership between the two NAs, the top Vietnamese legislator agreed with her Lao counterpart’s proposal that the two sides continue maintaining visits by high-ranking leaders and professional agencies of both sides, while increasing the sharing of information as well as collaboration in dealing with arising problems.

The two sides agreed that the two legislative bodies would strengthen the supervision over the implementation of signed agreements between the two governments, ministries, sectors and localities, including agreements inked during the recent visit to Laos by Party General Secretary, President Nguyễn Phú Trọng, while completing the legal corridor to facilitate the realisation of bilateral deals.

NA Chairwoman Ngân thanked the Lao NA for supporting Việt Nam in hosting a number of regional and international forums and meetings in 2020, asking for Laos’ co-ordination with Việt Nam when the country takes up the role of ASEAN Chair and AIPA President in 2020.

She expressed her delight at the fruitful results of the joint supervision activities of the two NAs, suggesting that the two sides work closely in facilitating the partnership among border localities of Việt Nam and Laos, ensuring border security and managing migrants in border areas.

The Vietnamese NA Chairwoman underlined that the construction of the new office building for the Lao NA is an important project for both Parties, States and peoples, pledging that the Vietnamese NA would continue coordinating with the Lao side to ensure its quality and progress.

At the working session, Ngân and Pany Yathotou discussed the joint supervision over the implementation of the agreement on the settlement of free migration and undocumented marriage in border areas of Việt Nam and Laos in 2019.

Lauding the results of a conference held by the Lao NA delegation and Hà Nội authorities yesterday to share experience in operations of local government, NA Chairwoman Ngân proposed that the two sides would continue exchanging experience in the operation of People’s Councils. Ngân also suggested establishing a joint working group to monitor activities of border gates between the two countries to remove obstacles for trade between Việt Nam and Laos. — VNS