General Secretary To Lam's state visit to Laos: A strong milestone in the great friendship between Vietnam and Laos
WVR - On the afternoon of November 29, Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cuong, spoke to the press ahead of General Secretary To Lam and his spouse's state visit to Laos for the 50th National Day celebration.
Latest
 |
| General Secretary To Lam and his spouse host a welcoming ceremony for General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith and his spouse during their visit to Vietnam in September 2024. (Photo: Thong Nhat) |
Could the Deputy Foreign Minister share the significance, purpose, and main activities of General Secretary To Lam's State visit to Laos?
At the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic Thongloun Sisoulith and his spouse, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam, along with his spouse and a high-level Vietnamese delegation, will make a state visit to Laos. They will attend the 50th National Day celebration of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and co-chair the high-level meeting between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party from December 1 to 2, 2025.
This is one of Vietnam's particularly important foreign affairs activities in 2025 and marks General Secretary To Lam's first State visit to Laos in his new role. The visit coincides with the significant occasion of Laos celebrating its 50th National Day (December 2, 1975 - December 2, 2025) and comes ahead of the Party Congresses of both countries in 2026, which will outline strategic development directions. The visit reaffirms the commitment of the leaders of both Parties and countries to continue nurturing and enhancing the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, aligning with the strategic interests and vision of both nations in the new era.
We all know that Vietnam and Laos share a "unique" relationship in international relations, being close neighbours with a long-standing historical bond throughout the nation-building and defense processes of both peoples. With a solid foundation laid by President Ho Chi Minh, Kaysone Phomvihane, and President Souphanouvong, and nurtured by generations of leaders and citizens of both countries, this relationship has achieved remarkable accomplishments and breakthroughs in all fields.
One of the key activities of the visit is the high-level meeting between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, the most crucial mechanism in the cooperation between the two Parties and countries. Leaders from both sides will exchange information on each Party and country's situation, evaluate bilateral cooperation results, and outline strategic, long-term development directions for the benefit of both peoples, peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and globally. This will lay a solid foundation for the two Parties and States to continue close cooperation in nation-building and defense in the new era.
During the visit, General Secretary To Lam will also hold talks and meetings with senior Lao leaders and attend the 50th National Day celebration of the Lao PDR, one of Laos' major commemorative events this year. The diverse and meaningful activities during this visit will further strengthen and affirm the high-level common understanding between the leaders of the two countries, emphasizing that the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos is an invaluable asset and a crucial factor for the special friendship "Vietnam-Laos: the friendship between our two countries is deeper than the waters of the Red and Mekong Rivers" as President Ho Chi Minh once affirmed.
 |
| Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cuong speaks to the press ahead of General Secretary To Lam's State visit to Laos for the 50th National Day celebration. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
How does the Deputy Foreign Minister evaluate the outstanding achievements in Vietnam-Laos relations in recent times?
Overall, despite the complex, rapid, and unpredictable developments of the times, with intertwined opportunities and challenges, the cooperative relationship between the two countries has achieved many outstanding accomplishments, affirming the depth, trust, and vitality of the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in the new era.
First, the most significant achievement in Vietnam-Laos relations is the close, high-trust political-diplomatic relationship, which continues to be a highlight and plays a guiding role in the overall bilateral relationship. High-level exchanges between the leaders of the Parties, States, National Assemblies, and Governments of both countries are vibrant, with flexible and timely forms. Delegation exchanges between various levels and sectors of both sides also occur regularly, contributing to strengthening political trust and strategic bonds while laying an important foundation for effectively implementing established bilateral cooperation mechanisms.
Defense-security cooperation continues to affirm its role as one of the important pillars of Vietnam-Laos relations. Both sides maintain effective coordination mechanisms, exchange information, and conduct joint border patrols; cooperate in human resource training; and coordinate in combating cross-border crimes, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for development in each country.
In addition to strengthening cooperation in politics, defense, and security, both sides also strive to elevate, create breakthroughs, and make strong progress in economic cooperation, especially effectively implementing key projects connecting the two economies, particularly in transportation (including highways and railways), energy, trade, investment, high-quality human resource training, and building sustainable supply chains.
Recently, trade-investment cooperation has continued to record positive changes, with trade turnover in the first 10 months of 2025 reaching nearly USD 2.5 billion, up 50.4% compared to 2024, making Vietnam Laos' third-largest trading partner, aiming for USD 5 billion and striving to reach USD 10 billion in the near future. In terms of investment, Vietnam currently has 274 investment projects in Laos with a total registered capital of over USD 5.8 billion. Some transportation infrastructure connectivity projects have been put into use, marking new strides in strategic spatial development linkage, contributing to the joint development of both countries in the not-too-distant future.
Other areas of cooperation such as education-training, culture, transportation, energy, and agriculture continue to be promoted, achieving many encouraging results. People-to-people exchanges and cooperation between localities of the two countries are expanding, contributing to enhancing understanding and bonds between the peoples of both countries, especially the younger generation.
At regional and international multilateral forums, Vietnam and Laos always closely coordinate, support, and share common views on peace, stability, and sustainable development. The cohesion in mechanisms such as ASEAN, United Nations forums, and sub-regional cooperation continues to affirm the spirit of solidarity, loyalty, and responsibility of the two countries to the regional community.
With the foundation of a special relationship, deep political trust, and many open cooperation opportunities, I am confident that General Secretary Tô Lâm's State visit to Laos will leave a strong milestone on the prosperous development of both countries, creating significant breakthroughs in the cooperative relationship between the two countries in the new context, thereby contributing positively to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
Thank you, Deputy Foreign Minister!
