Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình meets Lao National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotou on Tuesday in Vientiane. — VNA/VNS Photo 

VIENTIANE — Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình held talks with his Lao counterpart Bounthong Chitmany and met with National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotou on Tuesday as part of his official visit to Laos.

The two Deputy PMs shared their joy over the development of bilateral ties in all fields, and affirmed their resolve to continue giving the highest priority to strengthening the great relationship between the two countries.  

They agreed on the need to continue implementing reached agreements and the outcomes of the 41st meeting of the Việt Nam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committee, and the importance of the sharing of information and experience, especially experiences in Party building, preparations for Party congresses, economic development and settlement of macro-economic difficulties. 

Deputy PM Bounthong Chitmany pledged to continue instructing Lao forces to cooperate closely with their Vietnamese counterparts to stop all attempts of sabotage by hostile forces, particularly in border areas, and to fight transnational crime, especially drug crime.

Deputy PM Bình said Việt Nam is ready to share with Laos experiences in law building and help Laos enhance the capacity of its justice officials.

The two sides appreciated the good progress in bilateral economic ties, noting a 12.6 per cent increase in two-way trade to US$936 million in the first 10 months of this year.

They agreed to push ahead with the implementation of the two countries’ agreements on trade and border trade while working out plans to revise those two deals in response to requirements in the new situation.

The two Deputy PMs paid special attention to border trade, saying this is an important factor to improve socio-economic conditions and maintain security and stability in border localities.

Deputy PM Bình thanked Laos for continuing to facilitate investment activities by Vietnamese enterprises in Laos, helping Việt Nam maintain its third position among foreign investors in Laos with more than 400 projects valued at $4.22 billion.

He asked the Lao side to continue working with Việt Nam to remove difficulties for Vietnamese investment projects, and holding meetings between the Lao Government and the Vietnamese investors in Laos.

The two Deputy PMs also discussed measures to enhance cooperation in labour, auditing, religious and ethnic matters, inspection and corruption prevention.

The Lao Deputy PM used the occasion to confirm that Laos will support Việt Nam when the country serves as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2020-21 and Chair of the ASEAN in 2020.

He said Laos supports the ASEAN’s common stance on the common security issues of the region, including the East Sea issue and the Mekong river’s water resource.

The same day, Deputy PM Bình paid a courtesy call to National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotou, during which the Lao top legislator pledged that the Lao NA will create favourable conditions for the two Governments to promote cooperation across the fields.

The Lao NA will also intensify the supervision of key joint projects of Việt Nam and Laos, including the project on building a new building for the Lao NA, she said.

The Vietnamese Deputy PM affirmed that he will continue to work on issues of common concern, such as promoting Vietnamese investment in Laos and settling matters related to free migration, unregistered marriages and nationality in accordance with the agreement signed between the two governments. — VNS