On the afternoon of September 11, at the National Assembly House, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man met with Lao General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith on the occasion of the Lao General Secretary and President leading a high-ranking delegation of the Lao Party and State to pay a state visit to Vietnam.

At the meeting, in the face of the great losses in both human lives and property caused by storm No. 3, Lao General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith sent his sincere condolences to the Vietnamese people, especially the northern mountainous provinces as well as the capital Hanoi, and the people affected by this natural disaster. The Lao General Secretary and President expressed his belief that under the leadership and close attention of the Party, National Assembly, and Government of Vietnam from the central to local levels, the Vietnamese people will overcome all difficulties, and the lives of the people and affected areas will soon stabilize and return to normal.

The Lao General Secretary and President also informed about the results of his talks with General Secretary and President To Lam and his meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, in which the two sides discussed measures and directions for cooperation in the coming time, aiming to continue to consolidate, enhance, deepen and bring the relationship between the two Parties, two States and peoples to new heights.

The Lao General Secretary and President expressed his hope that the Lao National Assembly and the Vietnamese National Assembly will continue to exchange and share lessons learned in performing their assigned functions, tasks and powers, making the cooperation between the two legislative bodies increasingly effective, contributing to enhancing the position of the National Assembly as the highest state power body and the highest representative body of the people of each country.

The Lao Party General Secretary and President suggested that Vietnam continue to closely cooperate and assist Laos in socio-economic development; share experiences in law-making and resolve difficulties and obstacles to promote socio-economic development.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man highly appreciated and was pleased to see that the special relationship between the two countries is making remarkable progress in many fields. High-level visits and contacts, exchanges between ministries, branches and localities are conducted regularly. Bilateral mechanisms are maintained effectively; trade turnover between the two countries has grown strongly, reaching 1.1 billion USD in the first 7 months of 2024, up 13% over the same period in 2023; many major projects have had difficulties and problems resolved. Cooperation in the fields of education and training, culture, science and technology, etc. has been constantly focused on and promoted.

In the context of the complicated developments in the regional and international situation, the National Assembly Chairman affirmed that Vietnam is always determined to strongly and comprehensively support the cause of building and defending Laos. In particular, the National Assemblies of the two countries are actively coordinating to research, compile and publish the book "50 relations between the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the National Assembly of the Lao PDR - Comprehensive Cooperation for Development" to summarize the development process, achievements and lessons learned to improve the effectiveness of cooperation between the two National Assemblies in the new period.

As the head of the Vietnamese legislative body, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed that he and the National Assembly will continue to do their utmost to foster the existing good relationship between Vietnam and Laos in general and between the two National Assemblies in particular, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, and to continuously consolidate and strengthen the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation with Laos.

Regarding cooperation between the two countries' National Assemblies, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man said that the two sides need to continue to proactively exchange information and facilitate ministries and branches of the two countries, especially government agencies, to implement specific, drastic and synchronous measures to promote economic cooperation, further increase bilateral trade, and strengthen economic, transport and infrastructure connectivity.

"The Vietnamese National Assembly will increase the sharing of information and professional experience, including deciding on strategic issues of the country and supporting Laos in amending the Constitution," comrade Tran Thanh Man affirmed.

MR. PHUONG