Visiting representatives from the National Assembly of Vietnam and Laos were impressed with Laos - Vietnam International Port Joint Stock Company's modernly built, well-invested, and well-exploited port system in Ha Tinh.

Le Anh Tuan, Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Vandy Bouthasavong, Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lao National Assembly, Tran Bau Ha, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Tinh Province, Tran Dinh Gia, Deputy Head in Charge of the National Assembly Delegation of Ha Tinh Province, and members of the National Assembly from the working delegation of the National Assembly Committees for Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and Laos attended the meeting.

Vice Chairman Tran Bau Ha of the Ha Tinh Provincial People's Committee provided an analysis of the province's socioeconomic development position at the start of 2023. That being said, the fruits of our labour in tandem with Laos Ha Tinh province have always cared about keeping and strengthening its links of great affection, exceptional solidarity, and extensive collaboration with your communities.

According to the Vice Chairman of Ha Tinh Province's People's Committee, high-level delegates are routinely sent and received between the province and the city to work together, offer congratulations, and celebrate the province's and the city's major festivals. Ha Tinh province had major celebrations in 2022 to honour the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 45th anniversary of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. Ha Tinh's border with Bolikhamxay and Kham Muon provinces is consistently delineated. Agreements, ordinances, and regulations between Ha Tinh and the governments of bordering Laotian provinces have been properly enforced.

Ha Tinh is also one of the places where authorities and students from most Laotian provinces go to learn the Vietnamese language and get training at specialized, universities, colleges, intermediate, and vocational institutions.

Mr. Tran Bau Ha, speaking at the meeting, emphasized the importance of continuing to thoroughly organize and effectively implement the contents of the signed minutes of the Annual Meeting between the border delegations of Vietnam and Laos. This will help to further promote the special traditional friendship and long-term comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in general, and Ha Tinh and the provinces of Laos in particular.

The delegates who took part in the debate voiced a wide range of viewpoints on the subject of implementing the agreement between the Vietnamese and Laotian governments about cooperation in the investment and development of Vung Ang ports Nos. 1, 2, and 3. Planning and modernization of the port infrastructure are now underway to accommodate the freight transit requirements of the two nations.

Therefore, it is important to establish policies giving priority to investment in the development of infrastructure in border districts and communes so as to better the people's material and spiritual lives and provide them with secure employment opportunities. Invest in the construction, maintenance, and improvement of the border gate area's infrastructure to better support import/export and entry/exit operations; promote and intensify economic, commercial, and tourist interactions between provinces that share a border with one another in the region.

It is also important to facilitate cross-border freight trade, reform administrative procedures, speed up the process of relocating people and vehicles, and crack down on illegal trade, particularly in the Cau Treo International Border Gate Economic Zone.

Ha Tinh has proposed several changes to the Transboundary Transport Agreement of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS-CBTA), including the addition of routes 8 and 12 (Vietnam) and route 13 (Laos); the funding of a project to widen the road connecting the Cau Treo and Nam Phao (Laos) international border crossings in order to alleviate traffic congestion at these crossings;...

Earlier that day, a joint team from the Vietnamese National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee and the Lao National Assembly's Committee for Foreign Affairs surveyed Vung Ang Port's ports 1, 2, and 3.

Four investors formed the Vung Ang Viet - Laos Port Joint Stock Company on May 24, 2011. The Lao Joint Stock Company for the Development of Vung Ang Port (of the Lao People's Democratic Republic) has a 20% stake in the company's charter capital. Vung Ang Viet - Laos Port JSC changed its name to Laos - Vietnam International Port JSC on December 15th, 2017.

The first port opened in 2001, and the second in 2008; together, they process 3.5 million tons of cargo each year. The third port, which is now under construction and is projected to be fully operational by the end of 2023, represents an investment of approximately one trillion Vietnamese dong and is planned with a cargo throughput capacity of nearly two million tons per year.

The field survey was a chance for the two nations to express their satisfaction with the progress being made toward a more modern, well-invested, and fully utilized port system at Laos - Vietnam International Port JSC.

The delegates agreed that the advantages extend beyond the purely commercial and economic to include significant political implications, showing that the investment and development partnership between Vietnam and Laos is being put into practice as planned. They also voiced optimism that investment activity at Vung Ang port would expand in the near future, boosting economic growth in both nations.