Top leaders of Vietnam and Laos hold talks in Vientiane

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam held talks with General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith in Vientiane on February 5 as part of his state visit to Laos.

At the talks, the top Lao leader welcomed and highly valued General Secretary Lam’s selection of Laos as the first country to visit in his capacity as General Secretary of the 14th CPV Central Committee. He affirmed that this trip holds special significance in the history of bilateral relations as the Vietnamese delegation also includes both Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man.

This, he said, conveys a strong political message, reflecting the highest level of trust between the two Parties and countries, the rare and special solidarity between the two countries, as well as the high regard that the CPV and its General Secretary personally gives to the special Vietnam Laos relationship.

General Secretary and President Thongloun expressed his confidence that the success of this historic visit will further consolidate and advance the great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation and strategic cohesion between the two countries in a more substantive and effective manner, bringing tangible benefits to both peoples.

The host also highly valued Vietnam’s important and comprehensive achievements after 40 years of Doi moi (Renewal), particularly during the 13th National Party Congress term. He once again congratulated the CPV on the success of its 14th National Congress, and expressed his belief that under the leadership of the CPV, headed by General Secretary Lam, Vietnam will continue to obtain even greater accomplishments, successfully implement the Resolution of the 14th Congress, and fulfil its two 100-year goals.

The top leaders of Vietnam and Laos in a meeting before the talks. (Photo: VNA)

For his part, General Secretary Lam congratulated Laos on the success of the 12th National Congress of the LPRP, affirming that it is an event of special political significance marking a new stage in the revolutionary cause of the Lao Party, State and people.

He praised the major achievements of historic importance that Laos has attained over 40 years of steadfastly pursuing a comprehensive, principled and inheritable renewal policy, including gradually building a socialist-oriented market economy, maintaining political and social stability, and continuously expanding foreign relations, thereby enhancing the country’s standing and reputation in the region and the world.

The Vietnamese Party chief praised the highly strategic goals set out by the 12th National Congress of the LPRP for the next development phase, built on the solid foundation of achievements already attained. He expressed his confidence that the 12th-term Central Committee, Politburo and Secretariat of the LPRP, led by General Secretary Thongloun Sisoulith, will continue to uphold the revolutionary tradition, maintain unity, self-reliance and resilience, promote innovation, and successfully lead Laos in fulfilling the strategic objectives outlined by the 12th congress. These include achieving the country’s development goals until 2055, marking the 100th anniversary of the LPRP’s founding, striving to become an upper-middle-income country and gradually moving closer to the group of high-income nations.

General Secretary To Lam affirmed that the CPV always regards the successes of the Party, State and people of Laos as a shared joy, consistently places strong trust in and supports Laos’s cause of national construction and development. The CPV stands ready to work closely with the LPRP to further deepen the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation, and strategic cohesion between Vietnam and Laos, he said, considering this relationship an invaluable asset, a rule of development, and a key factor ensuring the success of each country’s revolutionary cause today and in the future.

The two leaders expressed their satisfaction with the recent deep, effective and substantive progress in Vietnam Laos cooperation, stressing that these achievements not only contribute directly to the development of each country, but also make a positive contribution to peace, stability and development in the region.

Both sides reached a high level of consensus based on their shared understanding of the special solidarity between the two countries. They agreed to continue giving top priority to the effective implementation of the high-level agreements and the Joint Statement reached in December 2025, as well as the outcomes of the Lao leader’s recent State visit to Vietnam. They highly valued the swift efforts by agencies of both sides to translate many of these commitments into concrete actions.

The host and guest agreed that, alongside the positive results achieved so far, cooperation should continue to be renewed and enhanced in quality and effectiveness, making it increasingly substantive. They emphasised the need to closely link strategic vision with concrete action, while further strengthening strategic coordination between the two Parties and the two countries.

Basing on long-term visions, the two leaders agreed on priority areas to be advanced during the current term to swiftly realise the goal of strategic cohesion, as each Party is implementing the Resolution of its new congress and developing socio-economic development plans for the 2026-2030 period.

Accordingly, the two sides will step up information exchange and experience sharing in implementing their respective Party Congress resolutions. They also committed to deepening economic linkages by prioritising resources, strengthening close coordination and accelerating the implementation of key strategic projects to generate new momentum for economic, trade, investment cooperation and regional development, with a view to raising two-way trade to 10 billion USD in the coming period. Cooperation in education, training and human resource development, particularly high-quality human resources, was reaffirmed as a strategic and long-term pillar of the bilateral relations.

In addition, the two sides agreed to further promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people interactions, particularly among young people; while strengthening cooperation in information and communications to widely promote the special solidarity between Vietnam and Laos, thereby intensifying mutual understanding and the shared cultural and spiritual foundations of the two countries' people.

They also underscored the need to establish a government-level monitoring and inspection mechanism to assess cooperation outcomes and promptly address obstacles, ensuring that projects are implemented on schedule and in line with agreed commitments.

The two leaders also held in-depth discussions on global and regional issues and agreed to step up information sharing, consultation and coordination at multilateral forums, enhance intra-ASEAN unity, and further reinforce the bloc’s central role.

On the occasion of the coming Lunar New Year 2026, on behalf of the Party, State and people of Laos, the Lao leader extended his New Year greetings to the Party, State and people of Vietnam, wishing the country and its people many new successes.

Concluding the talks, the two leaders witnessed the exchange of several important cooperation documents between ministries, sectors, localities and relevant agencies of the two countries in the fields of education, justice and local-level cooperation, which are expected to further strengthen the legal framework and create new momentum to concretise the strategic cohesion in the bilateral relationship./.