The delegation from Nghe An province visited and worked with the leaders of Vientiane Capital.

Also attending the working session were leaders from the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Office of the People's Committee of Nghe An province.

On the Vientiane Capital City government side, the attendees included Comrade Assaphang Siphandon – Member of the Central Executive Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Mayor of Vientiane Capital City, along with leaders of various departments and agencies of Vientiane Capital City.

Comrade Assangthong Siphandon expressed his pleasure in welcoming the delegation from Nghe An province to visit and attend the That Luang Festival – an event of profound political, cultural, and spiritual significance for the Lao people. The Mayor of Vientiane, deeply moved, shared the feelings of the Lao people towards the people of Nghe An province: “In the life of every citizen of Vientiane in particular, and the Lao people in general, almost everyone wishes to, and has at least once, set foot in Nghe An – the homeland of the great President Ho Chi Minh, who laid the foundation for the loyal and steadfast relationship between the two nations.”

The Mayor affirmed that Vientiane Capital City always values ​​and wishes to continuously strengthen and develop the traditional friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, two States, and peoples of Vietnam and Laos in general, and between Vientiane Capital City and Nghe An province in particular.

On behalf of the Nghe An provincial delegation, Mr. Phung Thanh Vinh – Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee – expressed his deep gratitude to the leaders of Vientiane for the warm, sincere, and fraternal welcome. He expressed his joy at visiting Vientiane – the "heart of the Lao People's Democratic Republic," the political, economic, and cultural center of the Land of a Million Elephants.

Speaking at the meeting, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee affirmed that the cooperative relationship between Nghe An and Vientiane Capital has always been maintained, strengthened, and strongly developed in many fields. A memorable milestone in the cooperative relationship between the two localities is the signing of the Cooperation Agreement for the period 2025–2028, which took place on May 12, 2025, in Vinh City, with many important cooperation contents in fields such as politics, diplomacy, investment, trade, culture, tourism, education, and science and technology.

Currently, 22 businesses from Nghe An are investing and operating in Laos, with many operating effectively in Vientiane. Total import and export turnover between Nghe An and Laos in the first nine months of the year reached over 65 million USD. Passenger and cargo transport routes between Vinh and Vientiane remain stable, contributing to promoting trade, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides. In the field of education, for the 2025-2026 academic year, Nghe An will continue to allocate 5 training quotas for students from Vientiane, out of a total of 294 training quotas for provinces in Laos.

Comrade Phung Thanh Vinh particularly emphasized that one of the strategically important cooperation projects between the two countries is the expressway. The investment plan for the Vientiane-Paksan (Bolikhamsai)-Thanh Thuy (Nghe An)-Hanoi route has been agreed upon by the governments of both sides. Upon completion, this route will shorten travel time between the two capitals, opening up new development opportunities for the North Central region of Vietnam and Central Laos, contributing to trade, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges. Currently, Nghe An province is beginning construction of the Vinh-Thanh Thuy border gate-Nam On (Bolikhamsai province) expressway, demonstrating the province's strong commitment to realizing the infrastructure cooperation agreement between the two governments.

Comrade Phung Thanh Vinh stated that Nghe An province is developing a "Comprehensive Cooperation Project between Nghe An province and the provinces of the Lao People's Democratic Republic for the period 2025-2030 and beyond," focusing on strengthening cooperation with Vientiane Capital in various fields such as economic diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, education, and science and technology. The development of this project will create a breakthrough in the cooperative relationship between the two sides, while also providing impetus to elevate the traditional friendship between Nghe An and the localities of Laos in general, and Vientiane in particular; maximizing the potential and strengths of each locality, contributing to promoting socio-economic development on both sides.

Comrade Phung Thanh Vinh expressed his hope that the two localities would continue to effectively implement the signed cooperation agreements, paying particular attention to supporting businesses and people from Nghe An living, studying, and working in Vientiane. At the same time, he urged them to cooperate in promoting strategic infrastructure projects such as the Vientiane – Pakxan – Thanh Thuy – Hanoi expressway, creating new impetus for socio-economic development and strengthening the special friendship between Vietnam and Laos.

In an open and friendly atmosphere, both sides exchanged information on the results of the Party Congresses at all levels and the administrative reorganization work carried out recently. Accordingly, Nghe An province has completed the reorganization of local government according to a two-tier model, abolishing the district level and merging communes from 412 to 130 administrative units. On the part of Vientiane Capital, preparations are currently underway to pilot a commune-level government organizational model, suitable to the characteristics of urban development and current administrative management requirements.

Concluding the working session, Comrade Assangthong Siphandon highly appreciated the socio-economic development achievements of Nghe An province in recent years, and acknowledged the practical contributions of Nghe An province in strengthening the cooperative relationship between the two localities.

Comrade Assangthong Siphandon affirmed that the Vientiane Capital Government will continue to closely coordinate with Nghe An province, creating favorable conditions for businesses to operate and work effectively; at the same time, strengthening exchange programs, investment promotion, trade cooperation and cultural and sports exchanges to further deepen the special friendship and loyal solidarity between the two localities.