Vietnam - Laos deep love and affection

I had the chance to visit the beautiful and hospitable country of Laos 14 years ago, when I joined the delegation of Quang Nam province to attend the 25th SEA Games in 2009. Many years have passed, but in my memory there are still many beautiful memories of the people and country of Laos.

Unforgettable memories

Welcoming our group that day at Lao Bao border gate ( Quang Tri province) was female volunteer Kham Say. She had just graduated from university in Vietnam, along with many other students returning to the country to work, volunteering to participate in serving the 25th SEA Games.

When Laos hosted the 25th SEA Games, there were thousands of groups bringing foreign tourists to visit. The number of tour guides in Laos was still small, so they had to be divided into many positions. Our group of more than 40 people had only 1 tour guide.

Kham Say is very good at Vietnamese, she introduced us to Lao culture, the destinations, and took the opportunity to teach us some Lao conversational phrases. I also took the initiative to interact with Kham Say, introducing Vietnamese culture, and my homeland Quang Nam; initiated a singing program for each other on the bus. The group responded enthusiastically. Kham Say also participated in the singing, she sang the song "Truong Son Dong, Truong Son Tay" very well. During the long journey to the capital Vientiane, everyone was happy, less tired.

During our visit to Laos, wherever we went, we were warmly welcomed by the Lao people. The staff at the competition and sightseeing venues, the police force, etc. always guided and helped us when necessary with close and affectionate feelings.

Kham Say took us to visit famous scenic spots of Laos, such as: Pha That Luang, Patuxai, Buddha Park... On the day we visited the Mekong River, we enjoyed many dishes of the neighboring country and were taught the Lam Vong dance by Lao girls.

The friendship became even closer when we watched the football match between Vietnam and Malaysia. The stands at the Laos National Stadium were packed with people. The national flags of Vietnam and Laos were everywhere. Fans from both countries cheered enthusiastically and excitedly…

Saying goodbye to Laos, I have many memories. I will always remember the image of Kham Say through the days of enthusiastically helping the group when taking a quick souvenir photo, still holding a battery-powered speaker to guide our group through the border procedures to return to Vietnam. To me, Kham Say is like a hard-working Vietnamese woman!

Delegation from Sekong province - Laos visited the farm of Mr. Thai Nguyen Khoa's family (4th from left), farm owner in Tien Ky town, Tien Phuoc district, Quang Nam province.

Local sentiment

Cultural, sports and information-communication exchange activities have not only fostered the friendship between the two countries but also strengthened relations in many sister localities.

Quang Nam province has a border of more than 170 km with Sekong province of Laos. Over the years, it has strengthened economic and cultural exchanges, built a strong friendship, and together firmly protected border sovereignty. Quang Nam province has organized the construction and presented many projects to Sekong province, such as: Sekong province's Center for Disease Control, Dac Chung district police office, etc.

Members of the Sekong Provincial Delegation learn about OCOP products of Quang Nam Province at an agricultural products exhibition fair.

From 2007 to present, Quang Nam province has also received, trained and coached more than 1,500 cadres and students to study; granted scholarships to more than 600 students from Sekong province to study Vietnamese and transfer to universities, colleges and intermediate schools. Currently, there are 289 Lao students studying in Quang Nam province, of which 141 are from Sekong province. Most young Lao intellectuals after returning home have been arranged jobs and have made positive contributions to the locality.

As for my hometown Tien Phuoc district, the Party Committee, government and people always have sincere feelings for our friendly country. In October 2022, the delegation of Sekong province visited the mangosteen farm of Mr. Thai Nguyen Khoa's family in Tien Ky town. Mr. Khoa's family welcomed us very attentively, took the delegation to visit the farm, shared farming techniques and production experiences that brought high economic efficiency. The family's homegrown products such as mangosteen, banana, green-skinned grapefruit, purple sticky rice yogurt, etc. were kindly and happily invited by the family for everyone to enjoy.

The delegation visited the OCOP products (One Commune One Product program) of the district. In an open conversation with the delegation of the neighboring province, Mr. Tram Que Huong - Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Tien Phuoc District - introduced many OCOP products of the district made from local materials such as: agarwood, lon bon wine, products made from areca spathe... I still remember in the friendly meeting, someone read a poem by Uncle Ho: "Vietnam - Laos, our two countries/Love is deeper than the waters of Hong Ha and Cuu Long".

The author with Lao female tour guide Kham Say at the 25th SEA Games in 2009. Photo: PHUOC TRAN

In recent years, many doctors, nurses and volunteers of the Tien Phuoc District Red Cross have participated and coordinated with the Quang Nam Provincial Union of Friendship Organizations, Pacific Hospital and hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City to examine, perform eye surgery, provide medicine and gifts to thousands of people in Sekong Province.

Great friendship

During the resistance war to defend the Fatherland, the people of Laos and Vietnam fought together and were tempered through many harsh challenges. In the new situation today, the people of the two countries share the same goal of building a peaceful and friendly border, bringing bilateral relations to comprehensive and extensive development.

The great achievement is that the common border area has been invested in and built by the Party, the State and localities, the people's lives have been increasingly improved, the grassroots political system has been consolidated... In particular, along the 2,067 km border, the two countries have completed the planting of border markers at 1,002 points, completed the mapping of the Laos - Vietnam border, and signed a border trade cooperation agreement. Currently, there are a total of 36 Laos - Vietnam border markets, 8 pairs of international border gates, 7 national border gates, 18 border openings and 8 special economic zones. This is the result of the great friendship between Vietnam and Laos.

This great friendship always has the contribution of individuals, families; of organizations, units, and localities under the leadership of the Party and State, which is very important in economic - cultural - social development, facilitating bilateral trade, ensuring security in border areas, and contributing to firmly protecting national sovereignty.

Currently, the world and the region are experiencing complex changes, hostile forces are trying to distort and divide the solidarity between the two nations. Therefore, the responsibility of each of us, especially the young generation, is even greater. We need to actively respond to and implement the policies of the Party and State to contribute to fostering friendship and consolidating the inseparable, close relationship between the two nations.

If the previous generation of Vietnam and Laos "crossed the Truong Son range to save the country", today's generation is always attached and shares in economic, cultural, sports, tourism activities..., to further promote the strong Vietnam - Laos relationship that Uncle Ho and the leaders and people of the two countries have worked hard to cultivate.

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