Phnom Penh (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham MinhChinh held talks with Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh in Phnom Penh onNovember 10.

During the talks, held on the sidelines of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related meetings in Cambodia, PM Chinh briefedhis Lao counterpart on the situation of Vietnam, underlining that despitedifficulties and challenges, especially those from the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam has recordedimportant socio-economic achievements in all fields so far this year.

He expressed his delight at the rise of 29% intwo-way trade to 1.22 billion USD in the first nine months of 2022.

The Vietnamese PM congratulated Laos on overcoming hardest times of the pandemic, expressing his belief that under the leadership of the Lao People’sRevolutionary Party (LPRP), the Government and people of Laos will successfullyimplement the five-year socio-economic development plan and the Resolution ofthe 21st LPRP National Congress.

For his part, Lao PM Phankham Viphavanh hailed Vietnam’sachievements in the pandemic fight as well as socio-economic recovery anddevelopment and international integration. He thanked Vietnam for its effectivecooperation and support to Laos in the pandemic fight, socio-economic development and human resourcestraining.

The two PMs shared pleasure at the mutual support that thetwo countries have given to each other over the years, as well as thecoordination in successfully organising activities of the Vietnam-Laos,Laos-Vietnam Friendship and Solidarity Year of 2022, and celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations, and 45 years of the Vietnam-LaosTreaty of Amity and Cooperation.

They showed delight at the growth of the bilateral ties inrecent years, especially in politics-diplomacy, security-defence, trade andinvestment, and affirmed that they will give top priority to the preservation,reinforcement and development of the great friendship, special solidarity andcomprehensive cooperation between the two countries, making it deeper and moreeffective, benefiting the two peoples.

They agreed to continue to effectively realise high-level agreementsand outcomes of meetings of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committee aswell as cooperation programmes between ministries, sectors and localities ofVietnam and Laos, while working together to prepare for and implementdelegation exchanges and important bilateral cooperation mechanisms, includingthe 45th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committeeand the closing of the Vietnam-Laos Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022.

They also concurred to thoroughly remove existing obstaclesand problems to speed up major joint projects such as Vung Ang port, Nongkhangairport, and other projects on transport connectivity, education-training,human resources, culture and health care.

Regarding regional and international issues of mutualconcern, the two sides agreed to continue to coordinate closely with each otherand consult each other at multilateral forums in the region and the world,especially the ASEAN, the UN and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms,contributing to fostering solidarity, unity and the central role of the ASEAN amidchallenges in the new situation./.