Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh pays official visit to Laos.

On December 4th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Thoongloun Sisoulith, discussing measures to promote bilateral relations and sharing views on a number of regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Lao Party General Secretary and President Chummaly Sayasone receives Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh

Against the backdrop of profound changes in the world and regional situation, the two Deputy Prime Ministers agreed that the annual meeting between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs is essential for exchanging information, coordinating actions for the cause of national defense and development, international integration of both countries, and for the common interests of the people of both countries, thereby further strengthening the special Vietnam-Laos relationship.

The two Deputy Prime Ministers expressed their pleasure at the increasingly effective and substantive development of the traditional friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos; affirming that both sides will continue to coordinate closely to strengthen exchanges of high-level visits and implement existing cooperation mechanisms between the two countries.

Prime Minister Thongsing Thamavong receives Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh

The two Deputy Prime Ministers highly appreciated the results achieved in the implementation of the "Master Plan for the Reinforcement and Renovation of the Vietnam-Laos Border Marker System" and the "Government-level Agreement on Resolving the Issue of Free Migrants and Unregistered Marriages in the Vietnam-Laos Border Region"; and agreed that both sides should strive to ensure the official operation of the "one-stop, one-time inspection" model at the Lao Bao - Densavan international border gate from January 1, 2015, in accordance with the agreement between the two countries.

The two Deputy Prime Ministers also briefed each other on their respective countries' foreign policies and shared views and assessments on a number of regional and international issues of mutual interest, such as the international and regional situation in the Asia-Pacific, and the progress of building the ASEAN Community.

High-level talks between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and Laos.

The two Deputy Prime Ministers affirmed that the two countries will closely coordinate with other ASEAN member states to successfully build the ASEAN Community by 2015, contributing to peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh affirmed that Vietnam will support and cooperate closely with Laos to successfully assume the ASEAN chairmanship in 2016. The two Deputy Prime Ministers also affirmed that the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries will continue to cooperate closely in regional and international forums.

Immediately after the talks, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Laos Thoongloun Sisoulith signed a Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos for the period 2014-2020 to further promote cooperation between the two Ministries, including strengthening exchanges of delegations and cooperation between leaders and functional units of the two Ministries.

During the visit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh paid courtesy calls on the General Secretary and President of Laos, Choummaly Sayasone, and the Prime Minister of Laos, Thongsinh Thammavong.

During the meetings, Lao Party General Secretary and President Choummaly Sayasone and Prime Minister Thongsinh Thammavong welcomed Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on his official visit to Laos; they highly appreciated and thanked the great and sincere support and assistance that the Party, Government and people of Vietnam have given to the Party, Government and people of the fraternal Lao ethnic groups; and affirmed that they always value and nurture the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

General Secretary and President Choummaly Sayasone expressed satisfaction with the good cooperative relationship between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and expressed confidence that the two sides would continue to coordinate closely to ensure the success of the Party Congresses in each country in 2016. The Lao Prime Minister highly appreciated the active preparations by ministries, sectors, and localities of both countries for the 37th Session of the Vietnam-Lao Intergovernmental Committee in early 2015; expressed pleasure at the high growth rate of bilateral trade between the two countries; highly appreciated Vietnam's continued position as a leading foreign investor in Laos; and committed to increasing ODA assistance to Laos by 30% in the near future. He agreed that both sides should soon sign a Bilateral Trade Agreement to facilitate the goal of achieving a trade turnover of 2 billion USD by 2015.

Lao Party General Secretary and President Choummaly Sayasone and Lao Prime Minister Thongsinh Thammavong highly appreciated the exchange between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs on measures to strengthen relations between the two countries and on regional and international issues, considering this to be extremely necessary to understand the impact of the regional and global situation on the development of both countries.

Signing of the Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos for the period 2014 – 2020

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh conveyed the warm greetings of the Party, State, and Government leaders to General Secretary and President of Laos Choummaly Sayasone and Prime Minister of Laos Thongsinh Thammavong; congratulated the Lao people on the great achievements they have made in national construction and development under the wise leadership of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and Government; and affirmed that the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to cooperate closely with the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs to further strengthen and consolidate the special Vietnam-Laos relationship, for the benefit of the people and the success of the revolutionary cause of each country.

Later that same day, at the headquarters of the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, on behalf of the Vietnamese Party and State leaders, awarded the Second-Class Independence Order to the Lao Minister of Justice, Bun-ket Sang-som-sak (formerly the Lao Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs), and the Third-Class Labor Order and the Friendship Order to several collectives of the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their outstanding achievements in strengthening the special solidarity between Vietnam and Laos.

According to VOV