Traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Nghe An and Lao provinces

Special bond

During the two wars against invaders, Vietnam and Laos were brothers fighting together on the same trench against foreign invaders, liberating the nation and protecting the Fatherland. Nghe An province and other provinces of Laos in particular have always stood side by side, sharing the sweet and the bitter with the spirit of "biting a grain of rice in half, breaking a piece of vegetable in half" to defeat the enemy together. During the war years, Nghe An was the solid rear for tens of thousands of cadres, soldiers and people of Lao ethnic groups from Xieng Khouang, Bolikhamxay and some other provinces of Laos.

Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee welcomed and worked with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Laos to Vietnam, March 23, 2021. Photo: Pham Bang

With a noble, pure and loyal international sentiment towards the neighboring brotherly country, many children of Nghe An also went to other provinces to fight for independence and freedom for the two nations. After the war ended, thousands of cadres and experts from Nghe An province continued to go to help Lao provinces overcome the consequences, heal the wounds of war, rebuild works, contribute to strengthening national defense and security, and serve socio-economic development.

It is the solidarity, help, sharing, and standing shoulder to shoulder together in the past to fight against foreign invaders that have contributed to building and nurturing the relationship between the two peoples of Vietnam and Laos to become extremely special.

Entering a new phase,special friendshipbetween the two nations and countries continues to be comprehensively developed and raised to a new level. As the province with the longest border with the Lao People's Democratic Republic in the country (468.281 km), along with many favorable conditions such as a transportation system with all types of roads, railways, waterways, and airways, Nghe An holds an extremely important strategic position in the East-West economic corridor, being the gateway to the Pacific Ocean of Laos. These are extremely great potentials that help Nghe An province promote exchanges and cooperation with Lao provinces to develop together in the new period.

Signing ceremony at the Conference to review cooperation agreements in 2019 and discuss cooperation directions in 2020. Photo: Thanh Duy

Enhancing comprehensive friendly cooperation

In recent years, Nghe An province has made constant efforts to maintain anddevelop cooperative relationshipsin many fields with Lao provinces sharing the border (Hua Phan, Xieng Khouang, Bolikhamxay) as well as some provinces with traditional cooperative relations (Vientiane, Khammouane, Savannakhet, Xay Som Bun). The cooperative relationship continues to achieve outstanding achievements in all three pillars: Party foreign affairs, State diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy.

Leaders of the Ministry of National Defense, Military Region 4, and Nghe An Provincial Party Committee chaired the workshop "50 years of the Plain of Jars - Xieng Khouang Defense Campaign: Victory and lessons learned" held in Nghe An in May 2022. Photo: Thanh Duy

Every year, Nghe An and Lao provinces regularly exchange high-level delegations, attend important events and holidays of the two sides; organize delegations to visit and work, and exchange experiences. Along with that, cooperation activities in the field of border management and protection are closely implemented, contributing significantly to consolidating and developing security - defense, protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country; at the same time, ensuring a favorable environment for socio-economic development, attracting investment and trade cooperation. The border between Nghe An province and the three provinces of Hua Phan, Xieng Khouang, and Bolikhamxay is truly a border of peace, friendship and cooperation for mutual development.

Signing ceremony between villages and clusters of villages of Vietnam and Laos; Thong Thu Border Guard Station instructing people of Nam Tay village (Laos) to grow oranges; Vietnamese Border Guards teach Vietnamese to Lao students. Photo: Hoai Thu - My Nga - Le Thach

The provinces of Xieng Khouang, Vientiane, and Xay Som Bun actively coordinated and supported Nghe An province in providing information, surveying, searching, and excavating the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in the resistance wars and organizing the reception, transportation, and burial at the Vietnam-Laos International Martyrs' Cemetery, the Do Luong District International Martyrs' Cemetery, and the Nghi Loc District Martyrs' Cemetery.

Cooperation in the fields of politics, defense and security is also a solid premise for the economic and trade cooperation between Nghe An province and Lao provinces to develop strongly and effectively. In the period of 2018 - 2022, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, two-way trade turnover between Nghe An province and Laos continued to maintain stable growth, reaching 139.1 million USD. Currently, there are 20 enterprises of Nghe An province investing, producing and doing business in Lao provinces in various fields of activity, mainly mining, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, processing and manufacturing industry. Along with that, cooperation activities in the fields of investment, development support, culture, sports, tourism, health, information and communication, agriculture, forestry, etc. have also achieved many practical results.

People's exchange program and art performance with the theme "Strong loyalty between Truong Son Dong - Truong Son Tay" held in Nghe An; Bunpimay Festival held for Lao students at Vinh University; Nghe An Provincial Youth Union Standing Committee awarded 11 scholarships to Lao students with excellent achievements in studying and training. Photo: Thanh Le - Thanh Quynh

One of the areas of cooperation that has achieved many positive results is supporting human resource training for Lao provinces. The number of Lao students studying in Nghe An province is increasing. Each school year, Nghe An province offers about 200 full scholarships to children from Lao provinces; contributing to supporting Lao provinces in developing a team of cadres that ensures both quantity and quality, meeting the demand for human resources in the new situation.

During the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic in both countries, although the socio-economic life of the province has been significantly affected, Nghe An province has always stood shoulder to shoulder with the provinces of Laos in the fight against the pandemic. Accordingly, Nghe An province has promptly supported the provinces of Xieng Khouang, Hua Phan, Bolikhamxay, and Savannakhet with food, medical equipment to serve the prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic with a total value of nearly 6 billion VND; supported, facilitated and treated many officials and citizens of the provinces of Laos who requested to enter the country to treat serious illnesses. These practical actions have contributed to affirming the close relationship and the spirit of mutual love, mutual assistance, and mutual support to overcome difficulties between Nghe An province and the provinces of Laos.

The Vietnam - Laos Friendship Association organized a donation of 200,000 masks to the Lao people to serve the work of preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic, June 2021. Photo: Hung Phong

In addition, people-to-people diplomacy with Lao provinces has also been strengthened. One of the highlights is the twinning movement of 21 pairs of villages on both sides of the border and 8 pairs of Border Guard Stations - Border Guard Companies, thereby contributing to further strengthening the special solidarity between the army and people of the two sides. In addition, there have been welcoming activities, cultural and artistic exchanges between Nghe An students and students from Lao provinces, and scholarships awarded to Lao students with good academic performance and good training at universities and colleges in the province. The achievements in people-to-people diplomacy between Nghe An province and Lao provinces have contributed to nurturing and passing on to future generations the great friendship between Vietnam and Laos.

Exhibition “Deepening the great friendship and special solidarity between Vietnam and Laos, Laos and Vietnam”. Photo: Dinh Tuyen