Trust, support, help each other to grow.

The Vietnamese and Lao customs authorities pay special attention to building, maintaining, preserving, and developing cooperative relations that are increasingly substantive and effective.

Overview of the Vietnam-Laos Customs Directors-General Conference, November 19th, in Hanoi . (Source: General Department of Customs)

On November 19th, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Customs organized the Conference of Directors-General of Vietnam and Laos Customs.

Attending the conference were the Director General of the General Department of Customs of Vietnam, Nguyen Van Tho, the Director General of the General Department of Customs of Laos, Phoukhaokham Vannavongxay, and representatives of the leadership of units of the General Departments of Customs of both countries.

In his opening remarks at the Conference, on behalf of Vietnam Customs, Director General Nguyen Van Tho happily welcomed Director General Phoukhaokham Vannavongxay and the high-level delegation of Lao Customs to visit, work, and hold talks with Vietnam Customs.

Over the years, in order to foster cooperative relations, the customs agencies of both countries have sent numerous delegations to visit and work together to exchange experiences on customs management.

The results of the visits and working sessions show that cooperation between Vietnam Customs and Laos Customs is built on trust in combining, supporting, and helping each other to develop together.

The special friendship between Vietnam and Laos has been nurtured through the various stages of development of the two nations. Continuing this special friendship, Director General Nguyen Van Tho emphasized that the customs authorities of both countries are particularly interested in building, maintaining, preserving, and developing cooperative relations between the two customs agencies, and in making these cooperative relations increasingly substantive and practical, facilitating economic, trade, investment, and travel exchanges between the people of the two countries.

The Vietnamese Customs always cherishes, preserves, and is committed to further developing this special relationship. Therefore, this conference is an opportunity for the two Customs agencies to review the cooperation journey and discuss operational plans for 2025.

Sharing his pride, Director General of Lao Customs Phoukhaokham Vannavongxay stated that Lao Customs has achieved many positive results in all aspects of its work over the past period.

In particular, from 2021 to the present, the revenue collection work of the Lao Customs has made remarkable progress, growing year by year. Notably, from January 1st to November 15th, 2024, the Lao Customs collected 15,200 billion Kip, fulfilling the target set by the Lao Ministry of Finance and increasing by 41% compared to the same period in 2023.

Alongside revenue collection, the Lao Customs has also achieved significant results in other areas such as drafting and amending legal documents; developing human resources; modernizing customs; and international cooperation.

In particular, according to Director General Phoukhaokham Vannavongxay, the Lao Customs has implemented an electronic customs declaration system with 20 modules and has completed the connection with the information technology systems of ministries, departments, and businesses.

Furthermore, the Lao Customs always prioritizes human resource development to improve its performance in state customs management.

Director General Phoukhaokham Vannavongxay stated that the exchange, sharing, and support in operational activities of the Vietnamese Customs over the past period have yielded many beneficial results for the Lao Customs in its development process.

Director General Nguyen Van Tho and Director General Phoukhaokham Vannavongxay exchanged the cooperation agreement. (Source: General Department of Customs)

At the conference, leaders from both sides agreed that the cooperation and mutual support between the two customs agencies over the years have fundamentally met the requirements for improving the efficiency of state management of customs in both countries. At the same time, this friendly cooperative relationship has ensured the fulfillment of international commitments to which both sides are signatories, as well as contributing to increased mutual understanding and strengthening the good cooperative relationship between the customs agencies of the two countries.

In order to further strengthen and develop the cooperative relationship and mutual support aimed at facilitating and ensuring security for Vietnam-Laos trade, on behalf of the Vietnam Customs and the Lao Customs, Director General Nguyen Van Tho and Director General Phoukhaokham Vannavongxay agreed to approve the cooperation plan for 2025.

Accordingly, in 2025, the two agencies will implement six areas of cooperation. Specifically, the two sides will hold talks and exchange experiences on anti-smuggling investigations within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on anti-smuggling investigations between the Ministries of Finance of Vietnam and Laos.

Vietnamese Customs will send officers to train and enhance the capacity of Lao Customs officers in areas related to collecting, analyzing, and processing information from intelligence sources. Simultaneously, officers will be sent to train and improve the capacity of Lao Customs officials in the control, investigation, and handling of seizures, criminal cases, and drug-related cases.

The two sides will also exchange experiences on methods for determining the value, origin, and classification of imported and exported goods; exchange experiences on post-clearance inspection; and organize a Conference of Lao-Vietnamese Customs Directors-General to evaluate the results of the plan's implementation.

The results of the 2024 cooperation between Vietnam Customs and Lao Customs confirm that both sides have completed all activities according to the Cooperation Plan approved by the leaders of the Ministries of Finance of the two countries, including: Bilateral talks between Hanoi Customs and Vientiane Customs (from August 19, 2024 to August 24, 2024); Bilateral talks on combating smuggling (from August 27-29, 2024). At the same time, both sides acknowledged the results achieved in exchanging information on anti-smuggling investigations and violations of customs laws.

To ensure this activity yields tangible results and promptly serves the customs management work of each side, both sides agreed that priority should continue to be given to assisting in verifying requests and providing information, especially regarding narcotics and precursors, and promptly providing news on potential violations of the laws of each side.

In addition, cooperative activities at the local level have also been effectively implemented by both sides, contributing to increased mutual understanding and trust, and enhancing the effectiveness of coordination between the customs agencies of the two countries in controlling and facilitating cross-border trade.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/hop-tac-hai-quan-viet-nam-lao-tin-tuong-ho-tro-giup-do-cung-phat-trien-294350.html