Every year, senior leaders of the two Parties exchange mutual visits, each of which has its own purpose and meaning. However, the recent official friendly visit by General Secretary Trong to Laos was of special significance, as it took place after the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the 10th National Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP). Last April, Lao General Secretary and President Bounnhang Vorachith paid an official friendly visit to Vietnam, his first trip abroad as the top leader of the “land of a million elephants.” In reply, General Secretary Trong also chose Laos as the first country to visit after his reelection as the Party leader in January 2016. That reflected the utmost respect and care from the leaders of the two Parties, States and peoples for the traditional friendly relations and special solidarity between Vietnam and Laos. For the first time ever, the two Parties held their congresses at the beginning of the year, stepping together into a new term amid complicated changes in the regional and international situation. The exchanges of visits between senior leaders of the two Parties were of special significance, offering opportunities for both sides to discuss and reach consensus on major plans, policies and measures for cooperation between the two Parties and nations during the long term, aiming to develop Vietnam and Laos’s special relations in a more intensive, solid and effective fashion.
During his stay in Laos from November 24-26, General Secretary Trong and the high-level Vietnamese delegation received a respectful welcome imbued with friendship, special solidarity and mutual trust from the Lao Party, State and people. People of Laos’s minority ethnic groups warmly welcomed the Party chief and the Vietnamese delegation and kept a constant eye on their activities through the mass media. During the talks and meetings between General Secretary Trong and Lao leaders, the two sides discussed and agreed to build on Vietnam and Laos’s special ties. Both the guest and the hosts affirmed their constant respect and strong comprehensive support for the cause of national renovation, construction and defence in each country. During the visit, the two sides signed seven cooperation documents and issued a nine-point Joint Statement, affirming that the protection, preservation and development of the special solidarity between Vietnam and Laos is critical to the survival of each country’s revolution and is a joint responsibility of the two Parties, States and peoples, particularly their younger generations, to ensure sustainable development and the future of the two countries, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
General Secretary Trong visited and had an intimate conversation with 1,800 officials, lecturers and students of the National University of Laos in Vientiane, which was broadcast live on national television in both Laos and Vietnam. There, the Party leader shared his thoughts on and major plans for relations between the two countries, as well as his thoughts on the paths the two Parties, nations and peoples have chosen. He also talked about his expectations for the youth of both countries, encouraging them to make joint efforts to preserve, foster and develop the special friendly relationship between Vietnam and Laos, making it increasingly intense, solid and effective in the future.
Prior to, during and after the Party chief’s visit to Laos, newspapers in both countries ran a number of relevant editorials, articles and photos on their front pages, affirming that the visit would contribute to deepening the special relations and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in the context of the new situation. Major newspapers belonging to the two Parties and States published many commentaries and analyses featuring the significance and outcomes of the visit and honouring the special relationship through various historical periods. They emphasised that in the new international context, the two Parties, States and peoples would forever treasure, preserve and develop the Vietnam-Laos traditional friendly relations, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation founded by President Ho Chi Minh, President Kaysone Phomvihane and President Souphanouvong and fostered by generations of the two countries’ leaders and peoples, considering it an invaluable asset common to the two Parties and nations and key to the existence and development of each country, for the benefit of the two peoples and for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and around the world.
Party and State leaders and former leaders, experts, scholars and classes of people from Vietnam and Laos spoke highly of the outcomes of General Secretary Trong’s visit to Laos, highlighting that it has left a deep mark on the history of the relations between the two countries, contributing to lifting the long-standing friendly relations, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos to a new level.
