Vietnam, Laos strengthen cooperation in expatriate affairs

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son has suggested the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (COVA) and the Liaison Committee for Overseas Laotians (LCOL) to promote cooperation in the work for overseas people, thereby enriching effective and substantive cooperation between the two countries.

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son has proposed that the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (COVA) and the Liaison Committee for Overseas Laotians (LCOL) intensify their collaboration in work related to overseas people, aiming to enhance effective and substantive cooperation between the two nations. Minister Son made this suggestion during a reception for the LCOL delegation led by Lao Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Souksanh, who visited Vietnam on December 29. The Vietnamese FM urged both sides to maintain close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, boost regular exchanges and consultations on international and regional issues of shared concern, particularly strategic matters impacting the security and development of each country. He expressed the readiness of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist Laos in successfully assuming the role of ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024.

Minister Son highlighted the flourishing great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, attributing these positive outcomes to important contributions from the two countries' Ministries of Foreign Affairs. He commended the effective and trustworthy collaboration between the two ministries in implementing the cooperation agreement for the 2021-2025 period.

Minister Souksanh affirmed that the Lao Party and State place significant importance on mobilizing overseas Laotians to contribute to national construction and development. He expressed the LCOL's desire to work with COVA to effectively implement their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), as well as exchange experiences in researching and developing policies for overseas people.

During the same day, Lao Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Souksanh held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Le Thi Thu Hang. Hang emphasized that the special friendship, solidarity, and cooperation between Vietnam and Laos have been comprehensively developing in all fields, with mutual trust, warmth, and intimacy between the Parties, Governments, and people of both countries.

Hang assured that COVA is willing to accompany and support LCOL in building and implementing policies for the Laotian-origin population. The two sides discussed the organizational structure of the two committees, the activities of the associations, and shared experiences in policy and law development, as well as organizing events for expatriates.

Hang proposed that the two committees continue to enhance cooperation, increase delegation exchanges, and encourage Lao young officials to directly participate in COVA-organized activities for experiential learning. Both sides agreed to enhance information exchange between their specialized units through various forms and organize activities to connect the expatriate communities of the two countries.