Deputy Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong visits Laos and co-chairs the 10th Political Consultation

The two sides agreed to continue to coordinate well in preparing for upcoming important foreign affairs activities and strengthen cooperation in various fields.

From July 8-9, Comrade Nguyen Manh Cuong, member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Laos and, together with Lao Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Phongsamouth Anlavan, co-chaired the 10th Political Consultation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs in the capital Vientiane.

Member of the Politburo, Deputy Prime Minister of Laos Saleumxay Kommasith received Member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cuong. (Source: Nhan Dan Newspaper)

During the visit, Deputy Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong had meetings with Mr. Saleumxay Kommasith, Politburo member, Deputy Prime Minister of Laos; Mr. Santiphab Phomvihane, Party Central Committee member, Minister of Finance and Mr. Bunlea Phandanouvong, Acting Head of the Lao Central Committee's Foreign Affairs Commission.

At the meetings, Comrade Saleumxay Kommasith, Politburo member and Deputy Prime Minister welcomed Comrade Nguyen Manh Cuong's visit to Laos and co-chairing the Political Consultation between the two Foreign Ministries this time; expressed his joy at the good development of the great friendship, close solidarity and trust between relevant agencies of Laos and the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in particular.

Appreciating the Political Consultation mechanism at the Deputy Foreign Minister level, Comrade Saleumxay Kommasith suggested that the two countries' Foreign Ministries continue to strengthen information exchange, experience sharing and closer coordination in regional and international forums; actively contribute to the implementation of high-level agreements between the two countries and focus on effectively implementing the Cooperation Agreement between the two Foreign Ministries; and prepare well for upcoming high-level diplomatic activities between the two countries.

Comrade Santiphab Phomvihane, member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Finance shared about the breakthroughs in cooperation projects between the two countries, many obstacles and difficulties have been resolved; emphasized that in his position as the new Minister of Finance after merging with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, he will continue to pay attention to and direct the promotion of closer cooperation with Vietnam to effectively implement high-level agreements between the two Parties and the two countries, especially infrastructure connection projects; expressed deep gratitude for Vietnam's support and assistance in the past time, especially the experience in macroeconomic management and operation.

Comrade Bunlea Phandanouvong, Acting Head of the Central External Relations Commission, emphasized that the Lao People's Revolutionary Party's Central External Relations Commission and the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam regularly hold meetings and exchange experiences, concretizing the new cooperation mechanism between the two agencies doing important foreign affairs work for the two Parties and the two countries; affirming to continue to closely coordinate together to effectively implement high-level agreements between the two Parties.

Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong and Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Phongsamouth Anlavan. (Source: Nhan Dan Newspaper)

During the meetings, Deputy Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong expressed his pleasure to visit and co-chair the Political Consultation between the Foreign Ministries of Vietnam and Laos.

Congratulating the Lao people on the great domestic and foreign achievements in the cause of national construction and development in recent times, comrade Nguyen Manh Cuong affirmed that the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ready to closely coordinate with the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Lao Central Committee for Foreign Affairs to ensure effective implementation of Party foreign affairs, State diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy between the two countries, while strengthening coordination of views on international and regional issues at forums, as well as exchanges in areas of mutual interest.

Comrade Nguyen Manh Cuong hopes that Lao leaders will continue to pay attention to and direct the effective implementation of high-level agreements between the two countries, thereby actively contributing to fostering the special Vietnam-Laos relationship to grow stronger.

Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong and Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Phongsamouth Anlavan co-chaired the 10th Political Consultation between the Vietnamese and Lao Foreign Ministries. (Source: Nhan Dan Newspaper)

At the Political Consultation, based on trust and sincerity, Deputy Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong and Deputy Minister Phongsamouth Anlavan discussed international and regional issues of mutual concern, informed each other about the situation in each country; and expressed their delight at the fact that the two countries regularly meet, exchange, coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums, especially at ASEAN, the United Nations and the Mekong sub-region framework.

The two sides assessed that the cooperation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs has become increasingly close and trustworthy in recent times. Based on the Cooperation Agreement between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs for the 2021-2025 period, the two sides regularly maintain consultation and political consultation mechanisms, thereby contributing to creating a solid foundation to continue improving the effectiveness of implementing economic diplomacy work of each country.

Regarding the direction of cooperation in the coming time, the two sides agreed to continue to coordinate well in preparing for important upcoming foreign affairs activities; strengthen cooperation in various fields. At the same time, prepare well for the political consultation at the ministerial level of the two Foreign Ministries at the end of 2025. The two sides agreed to hold the 11th Political Consultation in Vietnam in 2026.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thu-truong-nguyen-manh-cuong-tham-la-o-va-dong-chu-tri-tham-khao-chinh-tri-lan-thu-10-320458.html