Village-to-village friendship: the foundation for fostering sustainable Vietnam-Laos relations

The village-to-village friendship has been creating a solid bridge, connecting the hearts of the people on the Vietnam-Laos border. Thanks to this model, the villages on both sides not only protect the border but also develop the economy together and build a special friendship between the two peoples.

The founder of the "Twinning village - village" model

Until now, whenever recalling April 28, 2005, Major General Tran Dinh Dung, former Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Quang Tri Border Guard Command, still remembers the feeling of excitement. That was the day Ka Tang village (Lao Bao town, Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province) officially signed the regulations on village-to-village twinning with Densavan village (Se Pon district, Savannakhet province, Laos).

Mr. Dung said: "For a long time, I have always believed that we cannot hold hands and stand in a row to protect the border, but must have a position of the people's hearts, a border of the people's hearts, connecting the people of the two countries sharing a border, considering the border as a common home to build and protect together."

From that thought and assessment, in 1996, Mr. Dung and specialized agencies researched and established a scientific project to advise Quang Tri province and the authorities of neighboring provinces in Laos to organize "Village - Village Twinning" for border villages. After 9 years of hard work, in 2005, the scientific project first came to life with the event of twinning between Ka Tang village and Densavan village.

Major General Tran Dinh Dung (left cover), former Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Quang Tri Border Guard Command, instructs people in Densavan village on plant care techniques. (Photo: Viet Van)

The village-to-village coordination regulations include 12 memorandums of understanding in compliance with the Vietnam-Laos border regulations agreement, the laws of each country, and in accordance with the customs and practices of the ethnic minorities on the border. From here, foreign affairs between the two countries become very specific matters of the villages, communes, and clans on both sides of the border.

Mr. Ho Thanh Binh, then the head of Ka Tang village, said that the people of the two villages were mainly Bru - Van Kieu ethnic people with a tradition of solidarity, mutual support and assistance. However, both sides still encountered many difficulties and obstacles that were difficult to resolve. A part of the people of the two villages had not raised their awareness of protecting the border and landmarks, and there was still encroachment and encroachment; the development of production by the people on the Lao side still faced many difficulties...

When there was a policy to organize a twinning relationship between the two villages with many practical activities and commitments, the people of Ka Tang and Densavan all agreed and participated in the response. After the twinning ceremony, every 3 months the two sides would take turns organizing meetings to discuss the situation. When there was an emergency, the two sides would agree to find a solution. Thanks to that, the difficulties and problems that the two villages had encountered in the past were gradually resolved quite thoroughly.

“Since the two villages became twinned, the situation of encroachment and encroachment has stopped, and people who cross the border to visit each other all carry their identification papers. We also regularly exchange and trade goods in the spirit of mutual benefit. Realizing that the neighboring village has a lot of vacant land that has not been exploited effectively, the people of Ka Tang village have supported the neighbor with seeds of boi loi, cajuput trees, many varieties of cassava, bananas, hand-held weed cutters, etc. to help the neighbor invest in production,” said Mr. Binh.

Replicating effective models

Mr. Somtatti Nhavongsa, Head of Densavan village, said that after nearly 20 years of being twinned with Ka Tang village, the lives of Densavan people have made remarkable progress. From the donated seedlings, Densavan people have organized planting, care and actively learned and exchanged production experiences with Ka Tang people. Recently, Densavan village has harvested 4 batches of Litsea trees from the seedlings donated by Ka Tang village and sold them, earning more than 2 million kip. Many banana areas in the village have also been harvested, bringing in a good income for households in the village.

The two villages regularly visit and give gifts on important events of the two countries and localities such as celebrating the traditional Vietnamese New Year and the traditional Bun Pi May New Year, the National Great Unity Day, International Women's Day, etc. At the same time, they support each other in preventing and fighting epidemics, and overcoming the consequences of natural disasters and fires.

Mr. Somtatti Nhavongsa affirmed that the village-to-village twinning model is a profound expression of solidarity, love and mutual support between the people of the two countries. Through the twinning activity, the two villages have promoted a high spirit of cooperation, not only supporting each other to progress but also closely coordinating in protecting political security and maintaining social order and safety in the border area.

Ban Ka Tang and Densavan signed a memorandum of understanding for operations in the last 6 months of 2023. (Photo: Manh Cuong)

Colonel Nguyen Nam Trung, Political Commissar of the Quang Tri Provincial Border Guard, said that following the success of the Ka Tang - Densavan pair, all 24/24 pairs of villages facing each other on both sides of the border between Quang Tri province and Salavan, Savannakhet have now established twinning relationships, bringing many successes in border protection work. Typical examples of the effectiveness of this model are Ka Tieng village (Huong Viet commune, Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province) and A Via village (La Co village cluster, Se Pon district, Savannakhet province), which have just celebrated 17 years of twinning (2007-2024).

Not only within Quang Tri province, after nearly 20 years of implementation, the model of "Twinning villages - villages" has been replicated nationwide under the new name "Twinning movement of residential clusters on both sides of the border" with many diverse forms, becoming a military art, people's diplomacy in protecting the Fatherland's borders.

According to Major General Tran Dinh Dung, thanks to the cooperation and mutual support of people living along the border, the twinning model has brought about many positive results. He hopes that in the future, the "Twinning Movement of Residential Clusters on Both Sides of the Border" will continue to be the foundation for fostering sustainable relations between Vietnam and Laos, for a peaceful, stable and developed border area.

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/ket-nghia-ban-ban-nen-tang-vun-dap-quan-he-ben-vung-viet-nam-lao-206914.html