On the morning of December 1, after the solemn official welcome ceremony for General Secretary To Lam and his Spouse, together with the high-level delegation of the Party and State of Viet Nam at the Presidential Palace in accordance with the highest protocol for a head of state, General Secretary To Lam held talks with General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith.
General Secretary To Lam held talks with General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith.
General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith warmly welcomed General Secretary To Lam and the high-level Vietnamese delegation on their State visit to Laos; highly appreciated the important significance of the visit, which demonstrates the importance attached by the Party and State of Viet Nam and by General Secretary To Lam personally to the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Viet Nam and Laos; and emphasized that the presence of the General Secretary, his Spouse, and the high-level delegation of the Party and State of Viet Nam on the occasion of Laos' major national celebration is an honor for the Party, State, and people of Laos, making the commemoration even more meaningful.
The Lao General Secretary and President expressed gratitude to the Party, State, and people of Viet Nam for always giving Laos great support and assistance in the cause of national protection and development; emphasized that the great achievements attained by the Vietnamese people in the renewal process and the continuous enhancement of Viet Nam's position and prestige in the international arena have provided valuable experience for the fraternal Lao Party, State, and people in successfully carrying out the tasks of national protection and development. The important achievements of 40 years of renewal demonstrate the very correct development line of the Party and State of Viet Nam and are also a great source of encouragement for Laos.
Expressing thanks to the Party and State of Viet Nam for inviting Lao leaders to attend major commemorative activities of Viet Nam, the Lao General Secretary and President congratulated and highly appreciated the successful organization of the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification, the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day (September 2), which fostered unity within the Party and the entire people and reflected the strong patriotism of the Vietnamese people. He also congratulated Viet Nam on successfully hosting multilateral events, especially the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime in Hanoi last October; highly appreciated the achievements in implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and the thorough preparations for the 14th National Party Congress of Viet Nam. On this occasion, the Party, State, and people of Laos shared the great losses suffered by the Vietnamese people in recent storms and floods and expressed readiness to support Viet Nam in overcoming difficulties.
General Secretary To Lam expressed his pleasure at revisiting the beautiful country of Laos on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Lao National Day and the 105th birth anniversary of President Kaysone Phomvihane. These are sacred events of historical, political, and human significance, providing an opportunity for the two countries to recall the arduous yet glorious journey of the fraternal Lao nation, as well as the close-knit relationship between the two countries and peoples; affirming the independence, steadfastness, and enduring solidarity of the Lao ethnic groups. General Secretary To Lam sincerely thanked the Lao General Secretary, President, and leaders for the warm and respectful reception extended to him and the high-level Vietnamese delegation, vividly demonstrating the close bond between the two Parties, two States, and peoples.
This visit to Laos by General Secretary To Lam once again affirms Viet Nam's consistent foreign policy of giving the highest priority to the special solidarity with Laos. It is also an opportunity for the two countries to affirm their determination to build a new vision, elevating Viet Nam–Laos relations to a new stage of development, with increasingly deep trust and strong breakthroughs in cooperation across all fields.
General Secretary To Lam warmly congratulated the great and historically significant achievements that the fraternal Lao people have attained after 50 years of nation-building and 40 years of renewal, clearly demonstrating the leadership role of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party in setting policies and directions, along with Party building and organizational restructuring; maintaining relatively high GDP growth rates for many consecutive years, improving people's living standards, ensuring national defense and security, and expanding foreign relations. Laos' successful three-time assumption of the ASEAN Chairmanship and hosting of many related high-level meetings have affirmed the prestige and position of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in the region and internationally.
General Secretary To Lam expressed deep gratitude to the Lao Party, State, and people for their wholehearted support and assistance to Viet Nam in the past struggle for national liberation and in the current cause of national construction and defense. He expressed confidence that, with determination, steadfastness, and experience gained over 40 years of renewal, under the wise leadership of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party headed by Comrade Thongloun Sisoulith, Laos will successfully achieve the goals set by the 11th Party Congress, successfully organize the 12th Party Congress, and firmly step into a new era.
During the talks, the two leaders exchanged in-depth views on the situation of each country. General Secretary To Lam informed the Lao side about Viet Nam's comprehensive development, including the nationwide implementation of the restructuring and streamlining of the political system in a thorough and synchronized manner.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction that the special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Viet Nam and Laos continue to develop in a deeper, more practical, and effective manner across various fields, contributing significantly to maintaining political stability, national defense, security, and socio-economic development in each country, considering this a rule of development and an important factor ensuring the success of national construction and defense in each country. Cooperation and mutual assistance between Party committees, Government ministries and sectors, National Assembly agencies, Front and mass organizations, people's organizations, and localities of the two countries continue to be strengthened. Cooperation between localities, especially border provinces, has expanded, ensuring border security and order.
Recognizing that the close and trustworthy political relationship between the two countries continues to be strengthened through regular high-level and all-level exchanges, along with the effective operation of many cooperation mechanisms, the two sides agreed to effectively implement high-level agreements and plans, especially the outcomes of the 2025 high-level meeting between the two Parties and the third meeting among the top leaders of the Parties of Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia.
The two sides agreed to further promote the effectiveness of cooperation mechanisms, deepen relations between the two Parties and countries through existing mechanisms, flexible high-level exchanges, sharing of information, ideological foundations, strategic policies, and theoretical exchanges, especially on new issues; closely coordinate to organize important events of each country, particularly the upcoming Party Congresses, thereby continuing to affirm the new height of Viet Nam–Laos political relations.
They also agreed to continue promoting and innovating the content and forms of communication and education on the historical tradition of the special solidarity between Viet Nam and Laos for officials, Party members, people, and younger generations of the two countries; arousing pride, responsibility, and awareness in preserving and promoting the loyal, pure, and strategic bond between the two Parties and two nations.
On the basis of inheriting and promoting the tradition of special solidarity, the two sides agreed to further deepen bilateral relations by adding new substance: "Hữu nghị vĩ đại, đoàn kết đặc biệt, hợp tác toàn diện, gắn kết chiến lược" (“Great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation, and strategic attachment"). This affirms the shared vision, intertwined strategic interests, and long-term orientation toward sustainable development, self-reliance, and shared prosperity of the two nations.
Towards US$10 Billion in Bilateral Trade in the Coming Period
The two leaders emphasized that defense and security cooperation between the two countries is increasingly close and effective, serving as an important pillar in bilateral relations, contributing to new, deeper, and more effective developments; the results achieved in these fields have been very positive, building a stable and sustainable shared border. The two sides agreed to continue strengthening defense and security cooperation, closely coordinate and support each other in responding to increasingly diverse and complex security challenges; and link security and defense with socio-economic development.
The two sides also agreed to enhance strong connectivity in economy, infrastructure, banking and finance, and tourism; implement effective measures to strive to raise bilateral trade turnover to US$5 billion in the near future and towards US$10 billion in the coming period, in connection with strengthening connectivity in transport infrastructure, energy, and logistics; enhance exchanges of experience in macroeconomic management and anti-corruption. They agreed to promote the implementation of agreements supporting each other in building independent and self-reliant economies; strengthen exchanges of experience in macroeconomic management and institutional reform; closely coordinate to remove bottlenecks, create favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to effectively implement and expand investment projects in Laos, contributing practically to Laos' socio-economic development; and regularly coordinate to inspect and urge the implementation of aid-funded projects to ensure progress, efficiency, and quality.
The two leaders agreed to strongly promote and create breakthroughs in economic, cultural, and scientific-technical cooperation; promote connectivity in transport, electricity, telecommunications, and tourism; continue improving the quality of education, training, and human resource development, particularly high-quality human resources; and promote people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between localities as a strategic pillar contributing to strengthening the bond and consolidating the long-term sustainable solidarity between the two peoples.
In the context of profound, rapid, and complex global developments bringing both opportunities and challenges to the stability and development of both countries, the two sides agreed to maintain effective exchanges of information on international issues, support each other at multilateral forums, especially within ASEAN; and safeguard each other's legitimate interests in accordance with international law, including issues related to the East Sea affecting peace, stability, and cooperation in the region and the world.
At the conclusion of the talks, the two leaders witnessed the exchange of 12 important cooperation documents between ministries, sectors, localities, and relevant agencies of the two countries in key areas including defense, security, health, justice, education and training, finance and banking, and strategic infrastructure, creating a legal foundation and new momentum to further deepen, substantiate, and enhance the effectiveness of Viet Nam–Laos cooperation in the new period.
General Secretary Tô Lâm respectfully invited General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith and his Spouse to pay an official visit to Viet Nam at an appropriate time. The Lao leader graciously accepted the invitation.