The meandering Mekong River witnesses the deep friendship between neighboring countries on both sides. The holding of a high-level meeting has once again tightened the cooperation bond between Laos and Vietnam. From capital surges to rail extensions, from energy interconnection to talent cultivation and education, the two countries are taking practical actions to transform traditional friendship into a powerful driving force for regional development.

On September 21, 2026, at the invitation of Laos' Executive Vice Prime Minister Charente Gonmasi, Vietnam's Executive Vice Prime Minister Pham Gia Dinh paid an official visit to Laos. In the afternoon of the same day, the two countries' Executive Vice Premiers held bilateral talks at the Prime Minister's Office in Laos, comprehensively reviewing the achievements of cooperation in the first nine months of 2026, coordinating and deploying key tasks for the end of the year, and achieving remarkable economic and trade cooperation results.

High level meeting opens up new horizons

In the investment field, Vietnam's investment structure in Laos continues to optimize, with a large amount of Vietnamese capital entering Laos' advantageous industries with modern technology and green environmental protection concepts. The latest statistics show that Vietnam has landed 435 investment projects in Laos, with a total approved investment of 8 billion US dollars, ranking second among 53 countries investing in Laos. In the first eight months of 2026, Laos approved six investment projects from Vietnamese companies, with a total investment of up to 4.7 billion US dollars. The large-scale capital investment will continue to inject strong impetus into Laos' economic development.

Economic and trade investment yields abundant results

At the level of economic and trade exchanges, in the first eight months of 2026, the bilateral trade volume between Laos and Vietnam reached 1.8 billion US dollars, fully reflecting the strong complementarity and development vitality of the two countries' economies. In response to the cross-border major infrastructure projects that are widely concerned by society, both sides reached a consensus during the talks to continue to increase promotion efforts, accelerate the implementation of key projects with relatively lagging construction progress, and focus on promoting four major projects: the Vientiane Hanoi Expressway, the Vientiane Yong'an Port Railway, cross-border power trading cooperation, and the construction of oil pipelines and oil storage tanks. Keywords: Laos, Vietnam, cross-border investment

Multidimensional cooperation expands further

In addition to impressive achievements in the economic and trade fields, the cooperation between the two countries is steadily advancing in defense, security, education, and other areas. In 2026, Vietnam will provide Laos with 1300 scholarship spots for studying in Vietnam, and both sides will jointly promote the implementation and construction of the Laos Vietnam Friendship University project. As the talks are coming to an end, Charente Gonmasi congratulated Pham Gia Dinh on his appointment as Executive Vice Prime Minister of Vietnam. He believes that this visit can further consolidate the traditional friendship and special solidarity between Laos and Vietnam, deepen the comprehensive cooperation and strategic partnership between the two countries. Both sides also stated that they are actively preparing for the official visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh hung to Laos, and it is expected that this visit will promote a new round of development opportunities for economic and trade cooperation between Laos and Vietnam.Editor/Gong Ziwei