Vietnam is set to enhance educational infrastructure in Laos by constructing two schools valued at $2 million. This announcement was made by Prime Minister Le Minh Hung during his discussions with Laotian Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith in Vientiane.

The initiative aims to contribute to the education and training development in Laos, particularly in the provinces of Huaphan and Champasak. The Vietnamese government has expressed its readiness to support Laos through sharing experiences in macroeconomic management, financial budgeting, institutional reform, infrastructure development, and human resource training.

Both leaders emphasized that defense and security cooperation remains a cornerstone of Vietnam-Laos relations. They agreed to continue collaboration to maintain security, political stability, and social order in both countries. This includes efforts to combat transnational crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, smuggling, and high-tech crime, as well as managing and protecting borders.

In terms of economic cooperation, both sides noted that investment collaboration is a bright spot in their bilateral relations. Vietnam currently has about 300 investment projects in Laos, with a total registered capital of approximately $7 billion, making Laos the top investment destination for Vietnamese businesses.

During the meeting, the leaders discussed ways to enhance the connection between their economies, encouraging investment cooperation in high-value sectors, and improving transportation, infrastructure, logistics, and border gate connectivity. They set specific priorities to achieve a bilateral trade turnover of $5 billion, with a long-term goal of reaching $10 billion annually.

Furthermore, the two prime ministers addressed some challenges in economic cooperation and agreed to expedite the implementation of major projects while resolving issues related to mechanisms and procedures to enhance the effectiveness of investments from both countries.

They also exchanged views on measures to strengthen cooperation in science and technology, transportation, energy, and mining. After their discussions, the two prime ministers witnessed the signing of 11 cooperation documents covering security, justice, finance, energy, education and training, ethnicity, religion, and local cooperation between the two nations.

Additionally, they participated in the handover ceremony of the citizen data center project and the launch of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship University project.