The talks between Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and his Lao counterpart Xaysomphone Phomvihane (Photo: VNA)

NA Chairman Hue described the Lao top legislator's visit as an important milestone in the Vietnam-Laos ties, contributing to reinforcing and promoting the special friendship and comprehensive partnership between the two Parties, States and peoples as well as the two NAs in particular.

Xaysomphone Phomvihane lauded great and comprehensive achievements that the Vietnamese people have gained under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam amid COVID-19. He also hailed the success of the second session of the 15th Vietnamese legislature.

He thanked the Party, State, localities and people of Vietnam for offering support to Laos in finance, vaccines and medical supplies to help the country fight COVID-19.

Both sides agreed that the political- diplomacy partnership between the two countries has been strengthened through all channels. Particularly, the two countries coordinated closely to organise the official visit to Vietnam by General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith in June and the Lao visit by Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc in August this year.

Meanwhile, bilateral collaboration in defence, security, trade, investment, energy, transport connectivity, education and training, COVID-19 prevention and control, as well as cooperation among localities have been fostered, they noted.

They shared delight at the growing comprehensive cooperation between the two legislative bodies over the year. They stressed the need to sketch out collaboration orientations in the future to lay the foundation for the consideration of the signing of a new a cooperation agreement, focusing on the implementation of major tasks set in the Vietnam-Laos Cooperation Strategy for the 2021-2030 period and the Vietnam-Laos Cooperation Agreement in the 2021-2025 period.

The two NA leaders agreed to continue to promote the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia tripartite collaboration on the Development Triangle with thematic workshops on at the NA committee level. They concurred to suggest the Cambodian Senate and NA consider the organisation of an in-person meeting among the top legislators of the three countries if necessary.

NA Chairman Hue and his Lao counterpart Xaysomphone Phomvihane agreed to jointly hold activities to mark the 60th anniversary of the Vietnam-Laos diplomatic relations, 45 years of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation as well as the Vietnam-Laos, Laos-Vietnam Friendship Year in 2022.

They agreed to continue coordinating closely at regional and international parliamentary forums, including the International Parliamentary Union (IPU), the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF).

Xaysomphone Phomvihane took the occasion to invite NA Chairman Hue to visit Laos in an appropriate time.

On the occasion, the two NA leaders witnessed a ceremony to hand over medical supplies worth 1.1 million USD provided by the Vietnamese legislature to its Lao counterpart to help the Lao side with COVID-19 prevention and control.

Earlier the same day, Chairman Xaysomphone Phomvihane, his spouse and the high-ranking Lao NA delegation visited the tradition room of the Vietnamese NA, where he wrote in the NA golden book of memories.