National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man holds talks with Lao National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane (Thong Nhat - VNA)

Developing great friendship and special solidarity

The results of the visit once again affirmed the consistent policy of the Party and State to always give the highest priority and attach importance to developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos; affirmed Vietnam's strong and comprehensive support for the cause of innovation, protection and construction of Laos; and at the same time demonstrated the trust and closeness between the senior leaders of the two Parties, the two States as well as between the two Chairmen of the National Assembly of Vietnam and Laos.

High-ranking delegations of the Vietnamese and Lao National Assembly take souvenir photos (Thong Nhat - VNA)

Immediately after the Vietnamese delegation landed at the airport in Vientiane, an important meeting took place in an atmosphere of friendship. The Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Chairman of the Lao National Assembly agreed that the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, which was cultivated by President Ho Chi Minh, President Kaysone Phomvihane and President Souphanouvong, and generations of leaders of the two Parties, two States and peoples, has been tempered through many challenges and forged by the efforts and blood of many generations of heroic martyrs, has become a priceless asset of the two nations.

The two National Assembly Chairmen were pleased to see that the cooperation between the two legislative bodies is developing well in both breadth and depth; at the same time, they proposed to continue implementing exchange activities and sharing experiences in areas of mutual interest, especially in building and perfecting institutions and legal systems, supreme supervision and deciding on important issues of the country.

The National Assemblies of Vietnam and Laos will closely coordinate and jointly supervise the implementation of bilateral agreements; strengthen supervision and promote investment cooperation projects, propose solutions to difficulties and obstacles, and create favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to invest and do business in Laos; closely coordinate and support each other at regional and international forums, contributing to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for development.

During the visit, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man met with Lao General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith and Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.

General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith expressed his gratitude to the Party, State and people of Vietnam for standing shoulder to shoulder with Laos in the past struggle for national liberation and for their support and assistance in national construction and development today; highly appreciated Vietnam's support and assistance in helping Laos fulfill its responsibilities as ASEAN Chair 2024 and AIPA Chair this year, especially the support given to Laos even when Vietnam was also severely affected by Typhoon Yagi (Vietnam calls it Typhoon No. 3), demonstrating the close-knit, one-of-a-kind bond in the world.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Party General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith highly appreciated the fine and solid development of the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in recent years, including the very important contributions of the two countries' National Assemblies; emphasized that in the coming time, the two sides need to promote the tradition of close and trustworthy cooperation, and actively implement high-level agreements together...

At the meetings, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed: Vietnam consistently gives the highest priority to the special "unique" traditional relationship with Laos, always standing side by side and strongly and comprehensively supporting Laos's cause of protection, construction, innovation and development.

Assessing the results of the visit, Chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee Vu Hai Ha said that this visit continues to affirm the consistent policy of our Party and State of highly valuing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos throughout the struggle for national liberation and reunification as well as in building and defending the Fatherland today.

The greatest source of power, vital to survival

The common message of the leaders of Vietnam and Laos during this visit affirmed that solidarity and mutual assistance between the two Parties, two States and two National Assemblies is an objective factor, a historical law, one of the greatest sources of strength, and of vital significance to the cause of national construction and protection of each country.

In the capital Vientiane, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man met with leaders and former leaders of Laos; received President of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association Boviengkham Vongdara and Vice President of the Central Committee of the Lao Front for National Construction Chanphenh Soutthivong; and received President of the Lao State Audit Office...

On this occasion, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly visited the staff of the Embassy and met with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Laos.

The National Assembly Chairman highly appreciated associations such as the General Association of Vietnamese in Laos, Vietnamese associations in the provinces, and the Vietnamese Business Association in Laos for operating effectively, promoting the role of mass organizations, uniting and connecting the community, actively participating in local social activities and always responding to the policies of our Party and State, actively participating in activities towards the roots.

The National Assembly Chairman hopes that associations in Laos will continue to closely coordinate, gather the Vietnamese community in Laos, and continue to encourage them to make more efforts, with the spirit of "building Laos is building our own country", "helping our friends is helping ourselves", as taught by President Ho Chi Minh: "Unity, unity, great unity/ Success, success, great success"; "Nothing is difficult/ Only fear that the heart is not steadfast/ Digging mountains and filling seas/ With determination, it will be done".

Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Minh Tam emphasized: Comrade Tran Thanh Man's first official visit to Laos as Chairman of the National Assembly is of special importance and significance in consolidating and enhancing the special solidarity relationship between Vietnam and Laos to a new height, for the benefit of the people of each country, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Over the past few days, Laos has given the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly a very respectful and thoughtful welcome, with some exceptions, deeply demonstrating the special Vietnam-Laos relationship.

Together we overcome all challenges of the times

The participation of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly in AIPA-45 is of great significance, demonstrating the proactive, active participation and responsible contribution of the Vietnamese National Assembly and the parliaments of member countries to consolidate the central role, solidarity and unity in ASEAN, promote intra-bloc cooperation, expand multi-faceted relations with parliaments in and outside the region; promote the responsibility and role of AIPA for peace, stability and development, and at the same time put forward many valuable initiatives to share and support the Governments of ASEAN countries in resolving priority issues of the region.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the Heads of Delegations and delegates take a group photo (Thong Nhat - VNA)

Attending the 45th AIPA General Assembly Plenary Session, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man delivered an important speech, affirming that parliamentary cooperation will be the driving force to promote the implementation of building a law-based ASEAN Community, reflecting the voice and aspirations of the people, and putting the people at the center of all development policies.

Expressing confidence in the joint efforts of ASEAN countries, together consolidating the ASEAN wall to become more and more solid to overcome all difficulties and challenges of the times, the National Assembly Chairman promoted the spirit of solidarity and unity, raised the sense of responsibility to contribute to the common effort, effectively respond to challenges, and make comprehensive contributions to the process of building the Community.

With the desire to further promote the role of parliaments in enhancing connectivity, the National Assembly Chairman proposed five priority orientations in the coming time.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man said that AIPA needs to make more efforts with ASEAN to strengthen solidarity, cooperation, unity in diversity, uphold ASEAN's spirit of independence, self-reliance, and strategic autonomy; and promote compliance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The National Assembly Chairman emphasized the need to review and evaluate the implementation of the 2025 Master Plans, deploy cooperation strategies until 2045, promote harmonious, sustainable, comprehensive, inclusive development, leaving no one behind, focus on and give appropriate priority to sub-regional cooperation, and narrow the development gap.

In addition, AIPA needs to further promote its role in strengthening the complementarity of parliamentary diplomacy in the overall state diplomacy between ASEAN member states as well as with ASEAN partners, supporting and assisting governments more effectively with highly feasible solutions to successfully implement the goals set by ASEAN...

In an interview with reporters, Vice President of the Lao National Assembly Sounthone Xayachaki highly appreciated the Vietnamese National Assembly Delegation's participation in the 45th AIPA General Assembly and the National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man's contributions of ideas and proposals at AIPA-45, which contributed significantly to the success of the conference.

These are positive contributions from the Vietnamese National Assembly. We hope that Vietnam will continue to cooperate closely with AIPA member countries, making AIPA increasingly strong.

Looking back at the important results of the visit, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Vu Hai Ha said: Vietnam has proactively and actively coordinated with Lao friends early and from afar to build the agenda for the AIPA-45 General Assembly. Vietnam has 4 initiatives presented at the AIPA-45 committees to promote socio-economic development as well as infrastructure connectivity, digital transformation, green transformation, and energy transformation.

Vietnam also considered co-sponsoring 6 resolutions, including 5 resolutions proposed by Laos and 1 resolution proposed by Indonesia, Laos and Malaysia; thus, in the total of more than 20 resolutions expected to be adopted by the General Assembly, Vietnam made a very important contribution.

According to nhandan.vn