On the afternoon of April 24, at the Presidential Palace in the capital Vientiane, Lao General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith solemnly presided over the official welcoming ceremony for President Luong Cuong according to the highest protocol reserved for heads of state.

Immediately after the welcoming ceremony, President Luong Cuong held talks with Lao General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith.

Lao General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith warmly welcomed and highly appreciated the significance of President Luong Cuong's first visit to Laos in his new position, demonstrating the importance of the Party, State of Vietnam and President Luong Cuong personally to the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos; affirming that the visit marks an important milestone, contributing to promoting the relationship between the two Parties and two countries to develop in depth, effectively and practically, contributing to serving the cause of innovation, national construction and protection in each country.

The Lao General Secretary and President conveyed his regards to General Secretary To Lam and senior leaders of Vietnam; congratulated Vietnam on its outstanding and comprehensive achievements in recent times; expressed his impression of Vietnam maintaining its economic growth rate at the top level in the region, the people's lives constantly improving, its international position increasingly enhanced, the fight against corruption and the reform of the management apparatus from the central to local levels towards streamlining, efficiency, and effectiveness... achieving many good results; affirmed his readiness to coordinate with President Luong Cuong and senior leaders of Vietnam to further promote the "unique" Vietnam - Laos bilateral relationship in the world.

President Luong Cuong sincerely thanked the Lao General Secretary and President, along with senior leaders of the Lao Party, State and people for giving the Vietnamese delegation a thoughtful, sincere, warm and friendly welcome, especially with their comradely friendship; conveyed the warm regards and New Year wishes for the traditional New Year Bunpimay 2025 from General Secretary To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to Lao General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith, senior leaders and all cadres, party members and people of Laos; emphasized that the Party, State and people of Vietnam always remember the warm comradely affection, the selfless, wholehearted and righteous support and assistance of the Lao Party, State and people for the Vietnamese revolution.

The two leaders spent much time reviewing the mutual support between Vietnam and Laos and the people of the two countries during the past struggle for national independence as well as the construction and development of the country today; affirming that these are invaluable assets built by previous generations and will continue to be cherished, preserved and further promoted by future generations.

The two sides also informed each other about the socio-economic situation in each country. The two leaders emphasized that 2025 is a particularly important year for both Parties, States and peoples of the two countries as they are actively preparing for the upcoming 12th National Party Congress of Laos and the 14th National Party Congress of Vietnam.

President Luong Cuong highly appreciated the results that Laos has achieved in maintaining socio-political stability, economic growth, and improving people's quality of life; affirmed that Vietnam will always support and assist Laos in international integration and independent and self-reliant economic development.

The Lao General Secretary and President affirmed that Vietnam's great achievements in all aspects are a great encouragement and motivation for Laos and believes that with Vietnam's support, Laos will firmly step forward on the path of national construction and development.

President Luong Cuong and Lao Party General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith expressed their delight at the positive development of Vietnam-Laos relations and agreed to continue giving top priority to promoting bilateral cooperation in all fields.

The two leaders had in-depth discussions and agreed on major orientations for developing bilateral relations in the coming time, accordingly, they agreed to strengthen the trustful and close political relationship, maintain regular visits and contacts at high and all levels, focus on promoting exchanges and cooperation between the people of the two countries in various and flexible forms; focus on effectively implementing high-level agreements, treaties, and cooperation strategies, especially the results of the recent meeting between the two Politburoes and the two General Secretaries of the two Parties and the content of the 47th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of the two countries; continue to strengthen theoretical exchanges between the two Parties, the preparation work for the National Congress of each Party and experience in arranging and streamlining the apparatus, step up propaganda and education about the tradition of the special relationship between Vietnam and Laos among cadres, party members and people of all walks of life, especially the young generation of the two countries.

The two leaders agreed on the need to find new, innovative ways to enhance the effectiveness of economic, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation on the basis of maximizing the potential and strengths of each country, including strengthening strong connections in economics, infrastructure, budget - finance, and tourism between the two countries; implementing effective measures to strive to increase turnover to 5 billion USD in the coming years; and enhancing the exchange of experience in macroeconomic management.

The two sides expressed satisfaction that in recent times, with great efforts and determination, many large projects have been launched and put into implementation, creating new momentum for the bilateral cooperation relationship; in which the Vung Ang Port Wharf No. 3 Project will mark a strong development step in the new period.

The two sides agreed to promote cooperation in education and training, prioritizing support for Laos to improve the quality of human resources to better meet the requirements in the new development stage; at the same time, exploit the development momentum of science and technology to enhance the introduction of culture - country - people, the situation and achievements of each other's socio-economic development in the media of the two countries; promote cooperation between localities, especially between border provinces.

Regarding cooperation at multilateral forums, the two leaders agreed to promote information exchange, consultation, close coordination, effective mutual support, promote the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and ASEAN-led mechanisms, and other important international cooperation mechanisms; agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation, closely coordinate with each other and with relevant countries and international organizations to manage, develop, and sustainably and effectively use the Mekong River's water resources, contributing to maintaining peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

The two sides pledged to closely coordinate and continue to effectively implement the results achieved at the meeting between the three leaders of the three Parties of Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia (February 22, 2025) and continuously foster the traditional friendship between the three Parties and three countries.

On this occasion, President Luong Cuong announced that the Party, State and People of Vietnam decided to present the Lao Party, State and people with the construction project of a district-level hospital in Vientiane province worth 3 million USD and suggested that the two sides coordinate to quickly implement it and complete it in 2026, contributing to marking the successful results of the 12th National Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.

After the talks, President Luong Cuong and General Secretary and President of Laos witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation documents and the granting of licenses, including: Letter of Intent between the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam and the Ministry of National Defense of Laos on the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense's support for the construction of the headquarters of the Border Guard Command, Lao People's Army; Cooperation Program 2025 between the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice of Laos; Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the People's Committee of Gia Lai province of Vietnam and the Government of Attapeu province of Laos for the period 2025 - 2030; Investment license (adjustment) of the Xekaman 3 Hydropower Project built in Sekong province (granted by Laos).

* That same evening , before General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith hosted a solemn reception, the two leaders attended a lucky wrist-tying ceremony on the occasion of the Lao New Year Bunpimay. This is a ritual that has been associated with the ancient cultural development of the Land of a Million Elephants, demonstrating the hospitality of the Lao people to friends, with the intention of wishing good things to come to the person whose wrist-tying ceremony is held on the occasion of the New Year according to the Buddhist calendar.

The Lao General Secretary and President shared that the State visit of President Luong Cuong brought to Laos warm friendship and solidarity right on the occasion of the New Year. The thread tied to the hand accompanied by wishes for peace and luck, expressed the love and affection of the Lao people for the President and the high-ranking delegation of the Party and State of Vietnam. President Luong Cuong thanked the Lao leaders and people for their warm and thoughtful welcome, affirming that he would do his best to foster the relationship between the two countries.

Source: https://vpctn.gov.vn/tin-tuc-su-kien/hoat-dong-cua-chu-pich-nuoc/viet-nam-lao-nhat-tri-ve-cac-dinh-huong-lon-phat-trien-quan-he-co-mot-khong-hai-.html