Delegation of Nghe An province visited and worked with leaders of Vientiane Capital

On the afternoon of November 1, within the framework of the program to attend the That Luang Festival, the annual trade fair in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the delegation of Nghe An province led by comrade Phung Thanh Vinh - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee visited and worked with the leaders of the capital Vientiane.

Sở Ngoại vụ tỉnh Nghệ An•31/10/2025

English: The news — Comrade Assaphanthoong Siphandon - Member of the Central Executive Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Mayor of Vientiane Capital received Comrade Phung Thanh Vinh - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and the working delegation of Nghe An province. Photo: Pham Quynh

Also attending the meeting were leaders of the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Office of the People's Committee of Nghe An province.

On the side of the Vientiane Capital government, there was the participation of comrade Assaphanthoong Siphandon - Member of the Central Executive Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Mayor of Vientiane Capital, and leaders of departments, branches and sectors of Vientiane Capital.

Comrade Assaphanthoong Siphandon expressed his joy at welcoming the delegation of Nghe An province to visit and attend the That Luang Festival - an event of profound political , cultural and spiritual significance to the people of Lao ethnic groups. The Mayor of Vientiane was moved to share the sentiments of the Lao people towards the people of Nghe An province: "In the life of every Vientiane citizen in particular and Lao people in general, almost everyone wishes and has at least once set foot in Nghe An - the homeland of the great President Ho Chi Minh, who laid the foundation for the loyal and steadfast relationship between the two peoples".

The Mayor affirmed that Vientiane Capital always attaches importance to and wishes to continuously consolidate and develop the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, two States and peoples of Vietnam and Laos in general, and Vientiane Capital and Nghe An province in particular.

On behalf of the delegation of Nghe An province, Comrade Phung Thanh Vinh - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee expressed his deep gratitude to the leaders of Vientiane Capital for the warm, sincere and comradely welcome. He expressed his joy at visiting Vientiane Capital - "the heart of Lao PDR", the political, economic and cultural center of the Land of a Million Elephants.

Speaking at the meeting, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee affirmed that the cooperative relationship between Nghe An and Vientiane Capital has always been maintained, strengthened and strongly developed in many fields. A memorable milestone in the cooperative relationship between the two localities is the signing of the Cooperation Agreement for the period 2025-2028, which took place on May 12, 2025 in Vinh city, with many important cooperation contents in fields such as politics, diplomacy, investment, trade, culture, tourism, education and science - technology.

Currently, there are 22 Nghe An enterprises investing and doing business in Laos, many of which operate effectively in Vientiane. The total import-export turnover between Nghe An and Laos in the first 9 months of the year reached more than 65 million USD. Passenger and cargo transport routes between Vinh and Vientiane remain stable, contributing to promoting trade, tourism and people-to-people exchange between the two sides. In the field of education, in the 2025-2026 school year, Nghe An continues to reserve 5 training quotas for students from Vientiane out of a total of 294 training quotas for Lao provinces.

Comrade Phung Thanh Vinh especially emphasized that one of the important strategic cooperation projects between the two countries is the expressway. The two governments have agreed on the investment policy for the Vientiane - Pak Xan (Bo Ly Kham Xay) - Thanh Thuy (Nghe An) - Hanoi route. When completed, this route will shorten the travel time between the two capitals, opening up new development space for the North Central region of Vietnam and Central Laos, contributing to promoting trade, tourism and people-to-people exchange. Currently, Nghe An province is starting to build the Vinh expressway to Thanh Thuy - Nam On border gate (Bo Ly Kham Xay province), demonstrating the province's strong determination to realize the infrastructure cooperation commitment between the two governments.

Comrade Phung Thanh Vinh said that Nghe An province is building a "Comprehensive cooperation project between Nghe An province and the provinces of Lao PDR for the period 2025-2030 and the following years", focusing on strengthening cooperation with Vientiane Capital in many fields such as economic diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, education and science - technology... Building this project will create a breakthrough in the cooperative relationship between the two sides, at the same time creating momentum to enhance the traditional friendship between Nghe An and the localities of Laos in general, Vientiane in particular; maximizing the potential and strengths of each locality, contributing to promoting the socio-economic development of both sides.

Comrade Phung Thanh Vinh expressed his hope that the two localities would continue to effectively implement the signed cooperation contents, paying special attention to supporting businesses and people of Nghe An who are living, studying and working in the capital Vientiane. At the same time, they would coordinate to promote strategic infrastructure connection projects such as the Vientiane - Pak Xan - Thanh Thuy - Hanoi expressway, creating new momentum for socio-economic development and strengthening the special friendship between Vietnam and Laos.

In an open and friendly atmosphere, the two sides informed each other about the results of the Party Congresses at all levels and the recent administrative organization arrangement. Accordingly, Nghe An province has completed the arrangement of local government according to the two-level model, abolishing the district level and merging the commune level from 412 to 130 administrative units. As for Vientiane Capital, it is currently preparing to pilot the commune-level government organization model, suitable to the characteristics of urban development and current administrative management requirements.

Concluding the working session, Comrade Assaphanthoong Siphandon highly appreciated the socio-economic development results of Nghe An in recent times, and at the same time acknowledged the practical contributions of Nghe An province in strengthening the cooperative relationship between the two localities.

Comrade Assaphanthoong Siphandon affirmed that the Vientiane Capital Government will continue to closely coordinate with Nghe An province, creating favorable conditions for businesses to operate and work effectively; at the same time, enhancing delegation exchanges, investment promotion, trade cooperation and cultural and sports exchanges to deepen the special friendship and solidarity between the two localities.

According to: Van Anh - Pham Quynh, Department of Foreign Affairs

Source: https://ngoaivu.nghean.gov.vn/tin-trong-tinh/doan-dai-bieu-tinh-nghe-an-tham-lam-viec-voi-lanh-dao-thu-do-vieng-chan-981213