Vietnam and Laos have agreed to strengthen their bilateral ties by enhancing cooperation in the economic, infrastructure, financial–banking, and tourism sectors. Both nations also agreed to take steps to lift trade to $5 billion in the short term, with a long-term goal of reaching $10 billion.
The agreement was reached on Monday during discussions between Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Lâm and Laos’ LPRP General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith, following a state ceremony.
President Thongloun welcomed Secretary Lâm and the senior Vietnamese officials on their two-day state visit.
He stated that the visit offers a chance for both countries to reaffirm their commitment to shaping a new vision and advancing Việt Nam–Laos relations to a higher level across all sectors.
Both countries pledged to implement high-level agreements, especially those from the 2025 senior-level meeting between the two parties.
The leaders emphasized that defense and security cooperation has become more substantial, serving as a core pillar of bilateral relations and supporting a stable shared border. They agreed to further strengthen defense and security ties, coordinate closely on increasingly complex security challenges, and integrate national defense and security with socio-economic development.
Additionally, both sides pledged to boost economic, infrastructure, financial, banking, and tourism connectivity, expand transport, energy, and logistics links, and exchange insights on macroeconomic management and anti-corruption initiatives.
The leaders highlighted the importance of ongoing coordination on international and regional matters, mutual backing in multilateral forums and within ASEAN, and safeguarding each other’s legitimate interests in accordance with international law.
After the discussions, the leaders oversaw the signing of 12 major cooperation agreements between ministries, sectors, local authorities, and relevant agencies of both nations to further deepen and strengthen Vietnam–Laos relations in the current period.
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