Following the conclusion of the 48th Meeting of the Viet Nam – Laos Inter-Governmental Committee on Bilateral Cooperation a press conference was held to announce the outcomes of the meeting.

On the afternoon of December 3, in Vientiane, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone co-chaired the Viet Nam–Laos Investment Promotion Conference, themed “Strategic cooperation: Creating prosperous development.”

The conference assessed that, on the basis of the good political relations between the two countries, economic, trade, and investment cooperation has made significant progress. A growing number of projects implemented by Vietnamese enterprises have been operating effectively, making positive contributions to Laos’ socio-economic development across various sectors; creating jobs and improving the material and spiritual life of hundreds of thousands of Lao workers; adding revenue to the Lao state budget; and fulfilling social responsibility through active support for local communities.

However, delegates assessed that economic relations between the two countries are not commensurate with their political ties and potential. Therefore, at the conference, delegates, and enterprises proposed various solutions and recommendations to remove obstacles and facilitate investment programs and projects between the two sides.

At the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam To Lam and General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith had recently co-chaired a highly successful high-level meeting between the two Parties, offering many strategic orientations, with a particular focus on economic development. The goal is for Laos to strive for 6% growth from 2026, while Viet Nam aims for double-digit growth. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone also successfully co-chaired the 48th Meeting of the Viet Nam–Laos Inter-Governmental Committee, which adopted many important cooperation contents, including enhancing substantive and effective economic, investment, and trade cooperation between the two countries, with an emphasis on support, task assignment, and expectations for enterprise development.

Calling on the business community, ministries, sectors, localities, and citizens of both countries to swiftly implement the agreements and high-level orientations in response to the attention and guidance of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam To Lam and General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, as well as that of the two Governments, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that the healthy and sustainable development of each enterprise contributes to the healthy and sustainable development of each economy. The Prime Minister emphasised that state agencies must uphold their role as facilitators and promote the three strategic breakthroughs, namely open institutions, synchronous infrastructure, and smart governance. He also expressed his hope that enterprises of both countries would “value intellect, save time, and make timely, effective and decisive actions” to expand cooperation and investment in each country.

The Prime Minister called on the Lao Government to work jointly in shaping and serving the business community, and to consistently create the most favourable conditions for Vietnamese and Lao enterprises to strengthen cooperation, ensuring effective, stable, and long-term sustainable investment and business activities, guided by the spirit of the “three togethers” and the “five transparencies” action motto. These include: listening and understanding together; sharing the same vision and acting together; developing and enjoying benefits together; accompanied by: transparent institutions, seamless infrastructure, smart governance, common and practical approaches, and cooperative understanding. The Prime Minister urged enhanced connectivity and complementarity between the two economies, and the creation of a stable and transparent legal corridor and an enabling environment, accelerated implementation of investment projects with ensured progress and quality, and the initiation of new ideas and fresh momentum in trade and investment cooperation. He also emphasised improving investment efficiency and promoting a strong sense of responsibility among enterprises.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on Vietnamese enterprises to continue investing in Laos, while encouraging Lao investors to step up and expand their cooperation and investment in Viet Nam.

Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone affirmed that Laos always welcomes and facilitates Vietnamese investors, particularly in potential sectors such as electricity, transport infrastructure, high-tech agriculture, tourism, finance, and banking. To attract investment, including from Viet Nam, the Lao side has been and will continue refining its legal framework, reducing administrative regulations, accelerating digital transformation, promoting public-private partnerships, and fostering a transparent business environment.

At the conference, under the witness of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, enterprises from both countries signed and exchanged nine cooperation documents across various sectors.

Strong commitment from both Parties and States

Le Hoai Trung, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, stressed that the 48th meeting of the Viet Nam–Laos Inter-Governmental Committee reflects the determination of both Parties and States to elevate bilateral relations to a new height, marked by strategic linkage. Beyond their traditional ties of “great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation”, the two countries have now advanced their relationship to a higher level of “strategic linkage”.

Not only did the visit by the Prime Minister to Laos and the 48th meeting initiate the implementation of this upgraded strategic relationship, they also concretised the agreements reached by the two Parties. According to Minister Le Hoai Trung, this has been carried out through specific orientations and measures reflected in the talks between the two Prime Ministers, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s meeting with General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, and the important documents signed during the 48th meeting of the Inter-governmental Committee. These include the Viet Nam–Laos Cooperation Agreement for the 2026–2030 period, the Agreement on the Cooperation Plan for 2026, and minutes detailing the contents and points of consensus reached at this meeting.

This meeting creates new and highly significant conditions for both countries to implement their development strategies, as well as their orientations on national defence, security, and foreign policy as set by the two Parties for the next Congress term to be convened in early 2026.

To implement the outcomes of the meeting, Minister Le Hoai Trung stated that it is essential to first thoroughly grasp the agreements reached by the two Parties and the directives of General Secretary To Lam and General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, and to internalise the documents agreed upon at the 48th meeting, including: the Cooperation Agreement for 2026–2030 between the Governments of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, the Agreement on the Cooperation Plan for 2026 between the two Governments, along with other agreements reached by both sides and the contents agreed upon by the two Prime Ministers.

The dissemination of these directives must clarify all agreements, particularly the new ideas put forward by the two Parties and by General Secretary To Lam together with Lao General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith, as well as the matters exchanged and agreed upon by the two Prime Ministers.

Specifically, this means enhancing the effectiveness of political relations, ensuring that political ties are genuinely robust and play a guiding role in overall defence and security cooperation. This will pave the way for new developments and stronger consolidation, thereby safeguarding a peaceful and stable environment for national development. At the same time, breakthroughs must be created in economic cooperation, along with expanding and improving the effectiveness of cooperation in culture, education and training.

The Minister stressed that a particularly important guiding principle is to generate breakthroughs in economic and investment cooperation, with a focus on deepening economic linkages. Strengthening these linkages aims to elevate strategic relations, creating coherence in strategic orientations, development goals and long-term visions during the development process, while also promoting connectivity in infrastructure, energy, transport and more. At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also emphasised that innovative thinking is an especially vital resource.

Secondly, existing cooperation frameworks must be renewed, while also expanding into new fields, in line with the spirit of “strategic connectivity”. This requires harnessing the potential and strengths of each country, particularly by encouraging the active involvement not only of the State but also of the business community across all sectors.

Thirdly, the effectiveness of coordination mechanisms must be improved. As proposed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and agreed by the Lao Prime Minister, the two sides may hold regular meetings every three months. The two Ministers who co-chair the Bilateral Cooperation Committee will also meet quarterly to review and assess progress.

Fourthly, the two sides should jointly discuss and reach consensus on priority projects. Over the next five years, the Party and State of Viet Nam have decided to increase by 2.5 times the level of non-refundable aid provided to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, with the overarching principle of focusing on key projects rather than spreading resources thinly, ensuring practical and effective outcomes.

According to the Minister, achieving these objectives requires highly detailed implementation plans. With such an approach, cooperation between the two Parties and the two States will generate new resources for the entire development process, while also strengthening defence and security, as well as supporting each country’s international integration efforts.

Minister Le Hoai Trung affirmed that to realise these goals, both sides must put in place very concrete implementation plans. With this spirit, cooperation between the two Parties and the two States will create fresh momentum for the overall development process, while simultaneously ensuring national defence and security and advancing each country’s process of international integration.

Published: December 2025
Production Manager: Chu Hong Thang – Pham Truong Son
Content: Son Ninh – Thanh The
Design: NDO