Continuing to make educational cooperation a bright spot in Vietnam

On December 3, in Vientiane, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone co-chaired the 48th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee.

Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son attended the meeting and signed the 2026 Education Cooperation Plan between the two countries with Lao Minister of Education and Sports Thongsalith Mangnomek.

The Vietnam - Laos educational cooperation plan for 2026 is built on the basis of inheriting the educational cooperation plan of previous years and concretizing the Agreement on the Vietnam - Laos cooperation plan for 2026.

Accordingly, Vietnam will continue to grant 1,300 scholarships to train human resources for Laos, including 568 scholarships for general education, vocational education, university and postgraduate education for Lao citizens. Laos will grant 60 scholarships for university, postgraduate and short-term training in various fields as requested by Vietnam based on Laos's capabilities.

The two sides pledged to jointly promote the teaching of Lao language and culture in Vietnam as well as Vietnamese language and culture in Laos. Currently, in Laos, there are 21 general schools teaching Vietnamese as an optional foreign language; in the near future, Vietnam will also pilot the teaching of Lao as one of the official foreign languages in Vietnamese schools.

The two sides also agreed to continue to promote the effective implementation of the Project "Including the content of works on the history of the special relationship between Vietnam - Laos, Laos - Vietnam into teaching at schools of the two countries" according to the approved goals, content and plan, including the content mentioning the effective and long-term special educational cooperation between the two countries' Ministries of Education.

View of the 48th Session of the Vietnam - Laos Intergovernmental Committee.

The 2026 education cooperation plan signed within the framework of the meeting of the two countries' Intergovernmental Committee once again affirmed the special interest of the two countries in developing cooperation in the field of education and training, a strategic cooperation field between the two countries. The signing of this cooperation document also affirmed the common determination of the two sides to continue promoting the tradition of good cooperation, making educational cooperation a bright spot in the Vietnam - Laos relationship.

In addition to signing and implementing the 2026 Education Cooperation Plan, in his concluding remarks at the 48th Meeting of the Vietnam - Laos Intergovernmental Committee, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assigned the Ministry of Education and Training to study the construction of the Vietnam - Laos University.

In recent times, the cooperation in the field of education and training between Vietnam and Laos has achieved many outstanding results. Vietnam is currently training 13,000 people for Laos. Of which, nearly 5,000 people are awarded scholarships by the Agreement, over 5,000 people are awarded scholarships between twin provinces, the rest are other scholarships sponsored by organizations and enterprises and self-funded. Laos is also currently training about 250 people for Vietnam, including scholarships under the Agreement and outside the Agreement.

In the period of 2021 - 2025, each year Vietnam will send about 30 teachers to teach Vietnamese in provinces and cities of Laos. In addition, every year, the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports will coordinate with the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training to implement a 4-month Vietnamese language preparatory program in Laos for about 250 Lao officials and students sent to study in Vietnam under the Agreement.

Minister Nguyen Kim Son at the 48th meeting of the Vietnam - Laos Intergovernmental Committee.

Recently, the payment level for Vietnamese teachers teaching Vietnamese in Laos has been adjusted, standardizing the financial regime for Vietnamese teachers in Laos, bringing the remuneration level closer to the standard for staff working abroad, helping to attract many quality teachers to teach and creating motivation for teachers to feel secure in their work.

In 2025, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training is focusing on implementing the project "Editing, proofreading, and printing Vietnamese textbooks from grades 1 to 12 for Lao students in Laos". The project will provide Vietnamese teaching and learning textbooks to all educational institutions teaching Vietnamese in Laos to meet learning needs and improve quality.

In the coming time, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training is expected to pilot the teaching of Lao as one of the official foreign languages in Vietnamese schools and promote the reception of Lao students to study at boarding schools in Vietnam's border provinces. The Ministry of Education and Training also encourages Vietnamese higher education institutions to open training branches in Laos.

Educational cooperation is a strategic pillar in Vietnam - Laos relations.

Previously, for two days (December 1-2), General Secretary To Lam, his wife and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation paid a State visit to Laos and attended the 50th National Day Celebration of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son joined the delegation.

During the visit, the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party held high-level talks. Here, the two countries' senior leaders reaffirmed their continued attention to improving the quality of education, training and human resource development, focusing on training high-quality human resources and promoting people-to-people exchanges - considering this one of the strategic pillars, contributing to tightening the close relationship and consolidating the foundation of long-term sustainable solidarity between the two nations.

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