The talks took place immediately after the official welcoming ceremony.   

Consolidating the special bond of solidarity

According to VNA, at the invitation of General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic Thongloun Sisoulith, Party General Secretary To Lam led a high-ranking delegation of the Party and State of Vietnam on a state visit to Laos on February 5.

At the talks, the Lao Party chief and President warmly welcomed General Secretary To Lam and highly appreciated his choice of Laos as the first country to visit in his capacity as General Secretary of the 14th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. He stressed that the state visit was of special significance in the history of bilateral relations, particularly as the Vietnamese delegation included Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

This, he said, conveyed a strong political message, reflecting the highest level of mutual trust between the two Parties and States, the rare and special solidarity between the two countries, as well as the high regard of the Communist Party of Vietnam and General Secretary To Lam personally for the special Vietnam - Laos relationship.

General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith thanked the Party, State and people of Vietnam for the warm and respectful reception given to the high-ranking Lao delegation during its recent state visit to Vietnam in late January.

He expressed his confidence that the historic visit would further consolidate and advance the great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation and strategic connectivity between Vietnam and Laos in a more substantive, effective and in-depth manner, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both countries.

The General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos highly valued Vietnam’s important and comprehensive achievements of historic significance after 40 years of Doi Moi (Renewal), especially during the tenure of the 13th National Party Congress. He once again congratulated Vietnam on the success of the 14th National Party Congress, expressing his belief that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, headed by General Secretary To Lam, Vietnam would continue to achieve even greater accomplishments, successfully implement the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress and fulfill the two 100-year goals.

General Secretary To Lam congratulated Laos on the successful 12th National Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, affirming that it was an event of special political significance, marking a new stage in the revolutionary cause of the Party, State and people of Laos.

He spoke highly of the major achievements of historic importance attained by Laos over 40 years of steadfastly pursuing comprehensive renewal with principles and continuity, gradually building and developing a socialist-oriented market economy, maintaining political and social stability, and continuously expanding external relations, thereby enhancing the country’s position and prestige in the region and the world.

General Secretary To Lam also welcomed the strategic goals set out by the 12th National Congress for the next stage, and expressed confidence that the Lao Party Central Committee, Politburo and Secretariat of the 12th term, led by General Secretary Thongloun Sisoulith, would continue to uphold revolutionary traditions, strengthen unity, self-reliance and self-resilience, promote innovation, and lead Laos to successfully realize the strategic objectives outlined by the Congress, fulfill development goals toward 2055, the 100th anniversary of the Party’s founding, and strive to become an upper-middle-income country, moving closer to the group of high-income economies.

Vietnam and Laos agree on major orientations

General Secretary To Lam affirmed that the Communist Party of Vietnam has always regarded the successes of the Party, State and people of Laos as its shared joy, and has consistently trusted and strongly supported Laos’ cause of national construction and development.

He stressed that Vietnam stands ready to work with Laos to further deepen the great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation and strategic connectivity between the two countries, considering this relationship a priceless asset, a law of development and a decisive factor ensuring the success of each country’s revolutionary cause today and in the future.

Both leaders expressed satisfaction with the substantive, effective and wide-ranging development of bilateral cooperation in recent years, noting that these achievements not only contribute directly to each country’s development but also make positive contributions to peace, stability and development in the region.

They reached a high level of consensus on continuing to give top priority to and effectively implement the contents of the high-level agreements and joint statements reached in December 2025, as well as the outcomes of President Thongloun Sisoulith’s recent state visit to Vietnam. They highly appreciated the fact that many of these agreements have been promptly translated into concrete actions by relevant agencies of both sides.

While acknowledging the positive results achieved, the two leaders agreed that on the basis of existing cooperation mechanisms, the two sides should continue to renew cooperation approaches and improve quality and effectiveness in a more substantive direction, closely linking strategic vision with concrete actions and enhancing strategic coordination between the two Parties and States.

Based on long-term strategic orientations, the two leaders agreed on key priorities to be implemented immediately during the current term in order to soon realize the goal of strategic connectivity, as both Parties are implementing resolutions of their new congresses and formulating socio-economic development plans for the 2026 - 2030 period.

The two sides will further enhance information exchange and experience sharing in implementing Party Congress resolutions, strengthen economic connectivity, prioritize resources, closely coordinate and resolutely implement strategic projects to create new momentum for economic, trade, investment and regional development cooperation, and strive to raise bilateral trade turnover to USD 10 billion in the coming period.

They underlined that cooperation in education, training and human resource development, especially high-quality human resources, should continue to be identified as a strategic and long-term pillar of bilateral cooperation.

In addition, the two sides agreed to further promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges, particularly among the younger generation, and enhance cooperation in information and communication to widely disseminate the tradition of special solidarity between Vietnam and Laos, thereby strengthening mutual understanding and the spiritual and cultural foundation between the two peoples.

The leaders also agreed on the need to establish a government-level inspection and supervision mechanism to review cooperation outcomes and promptly address difficulties to ensure projects are implemented on schedule and in line with agreed commitments.

On this occasion, the two leaders exchanged views on regional and global developments and agreed to strengthen exchanges, consultations and coordination at multilateral forums, promote ASEAN unity and consolidate ASEAN’s central role.

On the occasion of the 2026 Lunar New Year, on behalf of the Party, State and people of Laos, President Thongloun Sisoulith extended his warm New Year greetings to the Party, State and people of Vietnam, wishing Vietnam further new victories.

At the conclusion of the talks, General Secretary To Lam and President Thongloun Sisoulith witnessed the signing and exchange of important cooperation documents between ministries, sectors, localities and relevant agencies of the two countries in the fields of education, justice and local-level cooperation, further strengthening the legal foundation and creating new momentum to concretize strategic connectivity in bilateral relations.