The 9th Vietnam - Laos Labor Ministers' Conference: Continuing to promote cooperation on labor, employment, and meritorious people

On November 12, 2025, in Ninh Binh province, the Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs organized the 9th Vietnam - Laos Labor Ministers' Conference. This conference aims to evaluate the results achieved in implementing cooperation programs between the Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs and the Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, share experiences and policies on labor, employment, and meritorious people of the two countries, and discuss practical solutions to promote more effective cooperation between the two ministries and the two countries in the field of labor, employment, and meritorious people in the 2026-2027 period.

In his opening speech to welcome the Conference, Minister of Home Affairs Do Thanh Binh said that the 9th Vietnam - Laos Labor Ministers' Conference took place in the context of the increasingly developing comprehensive cooperation between the two countries. The Party and State of Vietnam have a steadfast and consistent policy in relations with Laos, considering this a top priority in foreign policy. This relationship aims to constantly consolidate and develop the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation.

“With their backs against the majestic Truong Son mountain range and sharing the Mekong River, the two countries have a long-standing traditional and close relationship. This friendship is becoming increasingly strong, solid, deeper, more substantial and effective in the context of rapidly changing geopolitics in the region and the world. Implementing the common direction of the leaders of the two Parties and States, cooperation between the former Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam, now the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare has also been focused on and continuously developed in both breadth and depth,” Minister Do Thanh Binh emphasized.

According to the Minister of Home Affairs of Vietnam, the cooperation between the two Ministries since 1963 until now, over 60 years, the cooperation has developed to a new height. The two Ministries always maintain the organization of regular Ministerial Conferences every two years. Many specific achievements have demonstrated the effectiveness of cooperation in training work. Hundreds of Lao officials have been supported through exchange activities, exchange of study and research delegations, as well as short, medium and long-term training scholarships, contributing to improving management capacity and developing skills in Laos.

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has previously provided practical support such as building and putting into operation the Rehabilitation Center for War Invalids and People with Disabilities 686 Ban Can, Vientiane (in 2015), which has brought direct benefits to the Lao people. The Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare has also supported Vietnam in searching for and collecting the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who died in Laos, contributing to reducing the pain of martyrs' families. In addition, the cooperation between the two Ministries has been strongly promoted, supporting each other on both bilateral and multilateral levels, together contributing to the frameworks of ASEAN, the Mekong Sub-region, etc.

The Minister of Home Affairs said that Vietnam has just carried out a renovation revolution, reorganizing the state administration system to be streamlined, strong, and operate effectively and efficiently with the goal of better serving the people. Along with the process of streamlining the apparatus, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has been merged with the Ministry of Home Affairs, accordingly, the state management function of labor, employment, gender equality and meritorious people is now chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs, in addition to the existing state management functions of the home affairs sector. This merger is not only an organizational change, but also a strategic step to build a comprehensive state management agency, stronger in terms of public administration, human resources and labor and social policies.

“We believe that this new mechanism will create more favorable conditions for synchronizing staff training activities and sharing experiences in public service management, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of cooperation and mutual support between the Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs and the Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in the coming time,” Minister Do Thanh Binh affirmed.

At the Conference, Minister Do Thanh Binh and Lao Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Phoxay Sayasone listened to a report on the results of the Senior Officials' Conference between the two Ministries held on November 11, which provided a practical assessment of the results of cooperation in the 2024-2025 period in the fields of labor and employment, meritorious people, social insurance development, especially the digital transformation experience of the Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs.

At the end of the Conference, the two Ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of labor and meritorious people between the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Accordingly, the two sides will promote cooperation in labor and meritorious people, focusing on the fields of employment, occupational safety and hygiene, management of migrant workers, labor relations and social insurance; gender equality in labor and employment; meritorious people; application of information technology and digital transformation in the fields of labor and meritorious people...

This Memorandum of Understanding has been amended on the basis of the Agreement on cooperation in the field of labor and social welfare between the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (now the Ministry of Home Affairs) and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare of Laos signed in 2013. The Memorandum of Understanding aims to contribute to strengthening the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

The 10th Vietnam - Laos Labor Ministers' Conference will be held in Laos in 2027.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/hoi-nghi-bo-truong-lao-dong-viet-nam-lao-lan-thu-9-tiep-tuc-thuc-day-hop-tac-ve-lao-dong-viec-lam-nguoi-co-cong.html