National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man holds talks with Lao National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane

At the meeting, National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane warmly welcomed National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly to officially visit the Lao PDR and attend the 45th AIPA General Assembly chaired by the Lao National Assembly.

The Lao National Assembly Chairman highly appreciated the significance of Comrade Tran Thanh Man's first official visit to the Lao PDR in his capacity as Chairman of the National Assembly; expressing his belief that the visit will help tighten and foster the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in general and the good cooperation between the two legislative bodies in particular, so that it will increasingly deepen and bear fruit.

The Lao National Assembly Chairman was pleased to point out that the high-level delegation led by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man attending the 45th AIPA General Assembly is a strong encouragement for the host country Laos, an important contribution to the success of this General Assembly, and to continuing to foster and strengthen relations between the two countries.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man (left) and Lao National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane

The Lao National Assembly Chairman highly appreciated and thanked Vietnam for its support for Laos in 2024 when Laos assumes the role of ASEAN Chair and AIPA Chair; especially the Vietnamese National Assembly's support for the Lao National Assembly in successfully organizing the 45th AIPA General Assembly.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man respectfully thanked the Lao National Assembly Chairman and Lao leaders and deputies for giving the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly a warm, respectful, thoughtful and fraternal welcome.

Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man

On this occasion, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man respectfully conveyed the greetings and best wishes of General Secretary, President To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam to National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane and other Lao leaders; congratulated Laos on successfully assuming the role of ASEAN Chair and AIPA Chair in 2024, and successfully organizing the ASEAN Summits.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man expressed his belief that under the direction of National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane and the careful preparation of the Lao National Assembly, the 45th AIPA General Assembly will be a great success, contributing to enhancing the role and position of Laos in the region.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man congratulated Laos on the great, comprehensive and historic achievements after nearly 40 years of renovation; the implementation of the Resolution of the 11th Party Congress and the 9th Five-Year Socio-Economic Development Plan (2021-2025); and firmly believed that, under the wise leadership of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, Laos will successfully organize the 12th National Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party in early 2026 and successfully complete national development strategies.

Overview of the meeting

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed: Vietnam has consistently given top priority to the special and "unique" traditional relationship with Laos, always standing side by side and strongly and comprehensively supporting the cause of protection, construction, innovation and development of Laos. Vietnam always appreciates the sentiments, assistance and valuable contributions of generations of leaders and people of Laos, constantly cultivating the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos.

The two National Assembly Chairmen expressed their delight at the good results of cooperation between the two Parties and countries. Most recently, the Politburo of the two countries held a meeting to evaluate the results of cooperation between the two Parties and countries in the past time, and agreed on major orientations for the Vietnam - Laos cooperation relationship in the coming time. The activities of delegation exchanges, contacts and bilateral cooperation mechanisms have been maintained and effectively implemented.

Regarding trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, the two National Assembly Chairmen agreed that the relationship in this field is still modest, not commensurate with the good political relations and cooperation potential between the two countries. The Lao National Assembly Chairman pointed out that Vietnam is among the top countries investing in Laos with about 241 projects at various levels with a total investment capital of about 5.47 billion USD. The Lao National Assembly Chairman proposed that the Vietnamese National Assembly support the promotion of economic cooperation between the two countries, especially increasing two-way trade turnover in the coming time. Expressing his impression of Vietnam's achievements in agricultural development, including many products with high economic value, the Lao National Assembly Chairman hoped that Vietnam would share its experience in this field.

Agreeing with the proposal of the Lao National Assembly Chairman, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man emphasized that the two countries need to strengthen cooperation in various fields, including agriculture.

The two National Assembly Chairmen were pleased to note that the cooperation between the two legislative bodies of the two countries is developing well in both breadth and depth. The two sides are actively coordinating and implementing the Cooperation Agreement between the two National Assemblies signed in May 2022. Exchanges of high-level delegations and National Assembly agencies are maintained regularly; active consultation and mutual support at international and regional inter-parliamentary forums; and coordination in organizing seminars and thematic talks within the framework of the visits of the leaders of the two National Assemblies. In particular, the two sides have also organized joint supervision of important and strategic economic cooperation projects, promoting the spirit of supreme supervisory responsibility of each country's National Assembly.

The two National Assembly Chairmen highly appreciated the visit to Laos by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh in July 2024 and the visit to Vietnam by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Sommad Pholsena in September 2024. The two sides held a seminar on experience in law-making and constitutional amendment; and the role of the National Assembly in formulating and implementing socio-economic development policies. The two sides shared experiences and practical lessons in amending the Constitution and laws to serve development requirements in the new period; formulating and implementing socio-economic development policies. National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed that Vietnam is ready to share experiences with Laos in formulating and amending the Constitution and laws.

Regarding the book “50 years of relations between the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the National Assembly of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic - Comprehensive cooperation for development”, the two National Assembly Chairmen suggested that the two sides coordinate in research and speed up the compilation process to summarize the development process, achievements and lessons learned to improve the effectiveness of cooperation between the two National Assemblies in the new period; widely disseminate and raise awareness of the people of Vietnam and Laos about the close relationship between the two National Assemblies of Vietnam and Laos.

To promote cooperation between the two legislative bodies, the two National Assembly Chairmen agreed that it is necessary to continue to carry out exchange activities and share experiences in areas of mutual interest, especially in building and perfecting institutions, legal systems, supreme supervision and deciding on important issues of the country. Carry out cooperation activities between the National Assembly Committees and agencies in many flexible forms such as bilateral visits, combining the organization of seminars and thematic discussions during visits by the leaders of the two National Assemblies, or connecting online with specific and practical contents of mutual interest.

At the same time, closely coordinate and jointly monitor the implementation of bilateral agreements; strengthen supervision and promote investment cooperation projects, propose solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles, and create favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to invest and do business in Laos.

The two National Assembly Chairmen also suggested that the two sides should promote the improvement of institutions and policies to facilitate the effective implementation of the high-level agreements of the two countries' Politburoes and cooperation between the two Governments. At the same time, they should strengthen solidarity, close coordination and mutual support at regional and international forums, especially at the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), the Francophone Parliamentary Union (APF)... to contribute to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for development.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man hopes that the legislative bodies of the two countries need to further promote their roles to spread the strengths of cooperation between the two countries in politics, defense and security to the economic and other fields; have cooperation mechanisms to join hands with the Governments, levels and sectors of the two countries to resolve and remove difficulties, creating momentum to promote the continued development of the relationship between the two countries.

Regarding Cambodia's withdrawal from the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle, the two National Assembly Chairmen agreed that the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle has made positive contributions to the development of each country and has played an important role in the history of building and developing the three countries in general and Cambodia in particular. Vietnam and Laos always cherish the historical value of the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia relationship and will always attach importance to and give top priority to preserving, nurturing and developing the neighborly relationship of friendship, solidarity and comprehensive cooperation with Laos and Cambodia.

Earlier, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Lao National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane had a meeting.

Immediately after the talks, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Lao National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane witnessed the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lao National Assembly; and the Memorandum of Understanding on establishing friendly cooperation relations between Hoi An city, Quang Nam province (Vietnam) and Luang Prabang city, Luang Prabang province (Laos).

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/chu-tich-quoc-hoi-tran-thanh-man-hoi-dam-voi-chu-tich-quoc-hoi-lao-saysomphone-phomvihane-10292521.html