Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somdy Duangdy has hailed cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Energy and Mines over the past years. 

During a reception in Vientiane on September 23 for Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, the Deputy PM said a number of Vietnam’s hydropower, power transmission and mining projects in Laos have brought about fruitful results. He also spoke highly of Vietnamese investors’ contributions to the Lao socio-economic development. 

He asked Vietnam to continue carrying out the cross-border trade agreement, and suggested both sides reviewed the implementation of the “one-door one-stop” model at border gates with a view to spreading this mechanism. 

The host requested that Minister Tran Tuan Anh ensure the progress of Vietnam’s hydropower and mining projects in Laos, especially the potassium salt mine project. 

Minister Anh told the host that his ministry has issued a circular guiding the implementation of the Vietnam-Laos cross-border trade agreement, and cooperated with the Lao Ministry of Industry and Trade in holding a series of seminars popularising the contents of the agreement in Vientiane, and the provinces of Savannakhet and Luang Prabang. 

He said the MoIT will work closely with the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines to clear hindrances facing ongoing energy projects. 

The Vietnamese guest is scheduled to meet representatives from the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Energy and Mines on September 24 to evaluate bilateral coordination in the past and lay out tasks in the future.

VNA