Member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Hai Phong Party Committee Le Ngoc Chau (right) presents a commemorative gift to Khamphan Phommatha Member of the Politburo of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Laos. (Photo: Manh Tu/VNA)
On June 17, Member of the Politburo of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Laos Khamphan Phommathat, along with a delegation, visited and worked in Hai Phong on the occasion of the 7th Expanded Viet Nam–Laos Border Provinces Justice Conference.
Secretary of the Hai Phong Party Committee Le Ngoc Chau said that Hai Phong currently covers an area of nearly 3,200 square kilometers, with a population of more than 4.6 million people, ranking fourth among Vietnamese localities. The city’s economy has reached nearly US$30 billion, ranking third nationwide, and has maintained double-digit economic growth for 11 consecutive years.
The Vietnam–Laos relationship is a model relationship characterized by loyalty and deep friendship, built and nurtured through the dedication of generations of leaders and people of both countries. Preserving and promoting this special relationship between Vietnam and Laos has always been a political responsibility as well as a profound affection of the Party organization, government, and people of Hai Phong, which continues to be strengthened and developed.
To date, Hai Phong has established friendship relations and signed cooperation agreements with two Lao provinces — Vientiane and Oudomxay — in areas including Party and government building, education and training, healthcare, tourism, investment cooperation, and trade. In particular, Hai Phong is currently providing scholarships and training support for 134 students from these two provinces.
In recent high-level meetings and exchanges between the leaders of the two Parties and the two States, both sides have reaffirmed their determination to continue preserving, nurturing, and developing the great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation, and strategic connectivity between Viet Nam and Laos.
The two sides have agreed to strongly promote economic connectivity, particularly in transport infrastructure, logistics, trade, energy, telecommunications, and tourism; strengthen cooperation in education and training and human resource development; enhance cooperation between localities; and create favorable conditions for Laos to utilize Vietnam’s seaport system.
These areas identified for development cooperation by the two Parties and two States are also fields in which Hai Phong has significant advantages. The city wishes to further expand cooperation with Lao localities in the coming period based on the principles of mutual support, shared development, and mutual benefit.
Emphasizing that Hai Phong always attaches great importance to strengthening and developing friendship relations with Lao provinces, Secretary Le Ngoc Chau noted that cooperation between the two sides still has considerable untapped potential and has not yet fully matched the strengths, opportunities, and the “great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation, and strategic cohesion” between the two Parties and two States.
The Secretary expressed his hope that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Khamphan Phommathat would continue supporting the promotion of cooperation between Lao ministries, sectors, and localities with Hai Phong in fields such as education and training, healthcare, agriculture and environment, natural resources and minerals, and people-to-people exchanges.
Deputy Prime Minister Khamphan Phommathat thanked Hai Phong’s leaders for their warm and thoughtful reception of the delegation and expressed his pleasure at the cooperation achievements between Hai Phong and Lao localities in recent years.
He expressed his hope that Hai Phong would continue cooperating with Lao localities in various fields, including natural resources and minerals, education and training, and the exchange of successful experiences and new ideas. These efforts would contribute to further deepening, strengthening, and improving the effectiveness of the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States, and peoples of Laos and Vietnam.
Secretary Le Ngoc Chau expressed his belief that the visit by the Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice would further strengthen friendly cooperation between Hai Phong and Lao localities, while continuing to nurture the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos — especially as both countries prepare activities to celebrate the Vietnam–Laos Friendship and Solidarity Year, marking the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations (September 5, 1962 – September 5, 2027) and the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (July 18, 1977 – July 18, 2027) in 2027.