On the afternoon of April 26, at the Headquarters of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien received and worked with Lao Ambassador Sengphet Hung-bunong to discuss and agree on measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, industry and energy, contributing practical results to welcome high-level meetings between the leaders of the Party and State with Comrade Thoong-lun Si-sulit, General Secretary of the Laos People's Revolutionary Party who is about to visit Vietnam.

Attending the meeting, on the side of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, there were Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Khanh and representatives of leaders of units: Asia-Africa Market Department, Ministry Office, Department of Chemicals, Department of Industry, Agency of Foreign Trade, Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy; On the side of the Lao Embassy, ​​there were Economic and Commercial Counselors and a number of other professional staffs.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien at the meeting

At the meeting, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized the importance of the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos. Realizing that the above relationship is an invaluable asset that many generations of leaders and officials of the two countries have worked very hard to cultivate, the Minister affirmed that he always considers Laos friends in general and officials of the Lao Embassy in Vietnam in particular as extremely close comrades and brothers.

Facing the complicated situation of the COVID-19 epidemic in Laos in the past few days, the Minister expressed his sympathies with the difficulties of the Laos people, shared his concern with the Ambassador, but also expressed his belief that the epidemic will soon be controlled with drastic measures by the Lao Government. The Minister affirmed that to the extent possible, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is always ready to support and help the Laos side in the fight against the epidemic. On this occasion, the Ministry of Industry and Trade gave the Laos Embassy in Vietnam some antibacterial cloth masks to send to relatives in Laos, and donated a number of medical masks to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Laos.

In addition, the Laos Minister and Ambassador spent most of the working session discussing measures to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, industry and energy. The two sides consider these important contents to contribute to the meaning and results of high-level meetings between the leaders of  Party and State and Comrade Thoong-lun Si-sulit, General Secretary of the People's Party. Lao revolutionaries are about to visit Vietnam as well as contribute to the implementation of the Agreement on the Vietnam-Laos cooperation strategy 2021-2030, the Vietnam-Laos cooperation plan for the 2021-2026 period that the two sides will be signed next time. The contents that the Minister and the Laos Ambassador discussed and agreed on include:

In the field of trade, in terms of maintaining a smooth flow of goods, the two sides agreed to coordinate in monitoring, exchanging information and promoting the authorities of the two countries to maintain the model of epidemic prevention clearance at the land border gates between Vietnam and Laos, preventing goods movement from being affected or interrupted by the epidemic. In the spirit of ensuring no disruption to the supply chain of goods during the COVID-19 epidemic, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien thanked the Lao side for issuing Notice No. 0304 on April 22, 2021, canceling the order to suspend seafood imports from Vietnam.

Laos Ambassador Sengphet Hung-bun-nonh

Regarding the completion and implementation of the legal framework on trade between the two countries, the two sides agreed to accelerate the negotiation of the 2015 Vietnam - Laos Trade Agreement Amendment Agreement to be started and completed soon, serving for signing in 2021; promote the relevant agencies of both countries to fully implement the commitments of the Vietnam - Laos Border Trade Agreement.

The two sides agreed to coordinate in organizing activities to propagate and disseminate trade commitments and preferences of Vietnam and Laos in the Vietnam - Laos Trade Agreement and the Vietnam - Laos Border Trade Agreement to the end of the year. Vietnamese business community in 3 North, Central and South regions of Vietnam; coordinate in propagating and disseminating the above Agreements for Lao enterprises through an online form.

Regarding the increase in electricity trading between the two countries, the two sides discussed and agreed on many issues related to the construction of import electricity price bracket for renewable energy, the planning of electricity transmission infrastructure between Vietnam and Laos, develop a process for proposing, reviewing and submitting to competent authorities for approval of electricity import policy, etc.

In addition, the two sides also discussed other issues related to support for strengthening trade relations such as coordinating to seek credit sources for the Hanoi - Vientiane highway project, the issue of applying for permission to import live pigs from Laos into Vietnam and completed the transfer of shares to the Government of Laos in the Laos - Vietnam international port joint stock company (operating berths 1, 2 and 3 of Vung Ang Port) under the direction of the Senior Management.

At the end of the working session, Laos Ambassador and Minister Nguyen Hong Dien signed a Working Memorandum on measures to further strengthen cooperation in the fields of trade, industry and energy. This is an important premise and basis for the two sides to strengthen cohesion, close and effective cooperation in order to further develop the multifaceted bilateral cooperation relationship between Vietnam and Laos, fulfilling the tasks assigned by the senior leaders.