On the morning of April 06, in Phonsavan town (Xieng Khouang - Laos), the high-level delegation of Nghe An province and the high-level delegation of Xieng Khouang province held talks and signed a memorandum of cooperation for the 2023-2025 period.

On the side of Nghe An province, Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee (PPC) led the delegation. On the side of Xieng Khouang province (Laos), Comrade Bunchan Sivongphan - Member of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, Secretary, Provincial Governor led the delegation.

Overview of talks between leaders of Nghe An and Xieng Khouang provinces

Close neighbors, long tradition of cooperation

Speaking at the talks, Comrade Bunchan Sivongphan - Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Governor of Xieng Khouang province expressed his pleasure to welcome the Nghe An delegation led by Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, PPC Chairman to visit and work in Xieng Khouang province.

Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Governor of Xieng Khouang province believed that the visit and work of the Nghe An delegation will continue to consolidate and promote the good and long-standing tradition of the special friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two peoples of Laos - Vietnam in general, and the two provinces of Xieng Khouang - Nghe An in particular, becoming increasingly close and fruitful.

Comrade Bunchan Sivongphan - Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Governor of Xieng Khouang province speaks at the talks

In the past time, despite many difficulties, the political security of Xieng Khouang province has been stable and development goals have been achieved as planned. In 2022, the economy grew by 4%, the total value of the province's gross domestic product (GDP) reached more than 4,651 billion kip. Xieng Khouang attracted more than 2,325 billion kip of social investment, including 9 Nghe An enterprises with a total investment of 94.7 billion kip, etc.

Thanks for the valuable and timely help and support of Vietnam in general and Nghe An province in particular for Xieng Khouang province during the past time, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Xieng Khouang province said that Nghe An and Xieng Khouang provinces will continue to cooperate in many fields of work such as national defense, security, trade, investment, education, health care, agro-forestry, culture - tourism, border work, gathering of remains, people's foreign affairs, etc.

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of Nghe An PPC expressed his pleasure to visit and work in Xieng Khouang province, especially Phonsavan town rich in cultural and revolutionary traditions.

Chairman of Nghe An PPC emphasized that, during the long history of the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two parties, the two states and the people of the two countries, Vietnam - Laos, can proudly affirm that Nghe An - Xieng Khouang is one of the pairs of close neighbors, with a long and deep tradition of cooperation, friendship and solidarity, which has been steadily built up.

Comrade Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of Nghe An PPC speaks at the talks

Upholding that tradition, continuing to implement the Party and State's guidelines on promoting cooperative relations with Laos in the 2017-2022 period, Nghe An province has strengthened and promoted cooperation activities in all fields with Xieng Khouang province, achieved many outstanding results, contributing to building an increasingly strong and effective bilateral relationship.

Agreeing to continue effective and extensive cooperation

At the talks, the two provinces agreed to assess that, in the 2017-2022 period, the cooperation between Nghe An and Xieng Khouang achieved many outstanding results. The Party's foreign affairs were strengthened and promoted through the exchange of delegations and cooperation between Party committees. On the occasion of the Vietnam - Laos Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022, Nghe An province implemented many exciting activities to celebrate the important historical events of the two nations.

The two provinces have coordinated well in border management and protection; investment and development support activities have also been actively implemented. In which, the most prominent is the investment project to build the Friendship Hospital in Xieng Khouang province with a scale of 200 beds funded by the Government of Vietnam, with a total cost of 497,245 billion VND, Nghe An province as the investor. Up to now, the project has completed construction and is in the process of handing over equipment, transferring technology and is expected to be inaugurated in May 2023.

Nghe An Provincial Police supported the construction of 7 village police headquarters with a total investment of 3.4 billion VND for Xieng Khouang province; The province helped the armed forces of Xieng Khouang province with a total of 5 billion VND. Nghe An province has helped Xieng Khouang province in professional training for medical staff. Cooperation activities in the fields of culture, sports, tourism, agriculture, forestry, science and technology took place relatively excitingly.

Leaders of Nghe An province and Xieng Khouang province sign a memorandum of cooperation for the 2023-2025 period

Nghe An province always focuses on strengthening support for human resource training for Xieng Khouang province. From 2017 to now, Nghe An has been receiving training under a full scholarship for a total of 264 staff and students of Xieng Khouang; organized naturalization for 370 citizens of the two countries under a bilateral agreement.

Border management and protection and people's foreign affairs have also been effectively implemented, contributing to consolidating the special friendship and solidarity between the people, border guards of the two provinces in particular and the two countries of Vietnam - Laos.

Nghe An province has also received valuable assistance from Xieng Khouang province in coordinating the search, gathering, and repatriation of 555 remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Laos in which in Xieng Khoang province are 466 remains of martyrs.

After the meeting, leaders of Nghe An and Xieng Khouang provinces agreed to sign a memorandum of cooperation for the 2023-2025 period on 8 groups of contents: Cooperation in politics and foreign affairs; cooperation in investment, production and business; cooperation in culture, sports, tourism, health, information and communication, science and technology, agriculture, forestry, and transportation; cooperation in education, training, and fostering; border management and protection; solving the problem of free migrants who live as husband and wife but have not yet registered their marriage in the border areas of the two countries; twinning work on the two sides of the border and the gathering of martyrs' remains.

Pham Bang

Source: Nghe An Newspaper (April 06, 2023)