Vientiane (VNA)꧋ – Chairman of the National Assembly (NA)Vuong Dinh Hue met with representatives of Vietnamese businesses in Laos on May 15 in Vientiane as part of his official visit to Laos.

At the meeting, Duong Dinh Bang, Interim Chairman of theVietnamese Business Association for Cooperation and Investment in Laos, said theLao Government is amending legal regulations so as to improve the investmentclimate. Besides, many agreements between the two countries have also createdan optimal legal corridor for Vietnamese firms’ investment in Laos. However, he admitted that investment relations still fall shortof expectations and have yet to match the political and diplomatic ties. Representatives of the Vietnamese enterprises submittedseveral proposals to Lao and Vietnamese authorities so as to help facilitatebilateral investment and trade partnerships. Appreciating the companies’ opinions, Lao Deputy PrimeMinister Sonexay Siphandone said Vietnam is currently the third biggest foreigninvestor in his country with total investment of 4.6 billion USD, and thatVietnamese firms’ projects have been greatly helping with local socio-economicdevelopment. For his part, Chairman Hue said even businesses should beaware of their responsibility towards the special Vietnam - Laos ties. Special relations need special mechanisms in order to createfavourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses’ operations in Laos, he noted,asking the enterprises to proactively improve their competitiveness. He emphasised that in the time ahead, it is necessary todevelop economic, trade, and investment links on par with the political anddiplomatic relations between the two countries. As the bilateral trade of 1.3 billion USD remains modest comparedto the countries’ potential and advantages, the top legislator requestedbusinesses and leaders of ministries and sectors to seek solutions to existingshortcomings in the current projects. He voiced his hope that enterprises in Vietnam and Laos willwork harder to make breakthroughs in economic, trade, and investment ties interms of both quantity and quality so as to bring about practical benefits forthe two countries as well as their business communities and people. The same day, NA Chairman Hue and his entourage visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos and met with the Vietnamese community here.

Chairman Hue appreciated the work of the Embassy and Vietnamese representative agencies in Laos as well as the contributions of the Vietnamese community and Vietnamese businesses in Laos to the relations between Vietnam and Laos.

𒆙 He singled out the issue of preserving the Vietnamese culture in overseas Vietnamese communities, saying that it needs continued attention in Laos where there are as many as 100,000 Vietnamese.         

He asked the embassy to hold activities to promote the Vietnamese language.  The NA Chairman took the occasion to inform the Vietnamese community on the socio-economic situation in Vietnam and decisions made at the recent fifth plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee.       Chairman of the General Association of Vietnamese in Laos Nguyen Duy Trung presented proposals of the Vietnamese community in Laos, including starting labour cooperation between the two countries, increasing annual scholarships for Vietnamese-Lao students to study in Vietnam, and facilitating access to medical check and treatment in Vietnam for Vietnamese in Laos.   Chairman Hue took note of the proposal and promised to ask relevant agencies to consider them./.