Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung handed over medical equipment worth over VND7 billion ($304,000) as gifts from the Vietnamese Government and people to their Lao counterparts at a ceremony in Vientiane on April 4.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung on April 3 handed over medical equipment worth $304,000 as gifts from the Vietnamese Government and people to their Lao and Cambodian counterparts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vietnamese Government has decided to suspend cross-border activities of individuals at main and secondary border gates, and trails in border areas sharing with Cambodia and Laos from April 1.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc announced the Vietnamese Government has decided to offer US$200,000 in medical aid to help Laos and Cambodia fight the novel coronavirus pandemic.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc on March 26 held separate phone talks with his Lao and Cambodian counterparts, during which the leaders discussed coordination between Vietnam and the two countries in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand began their 91st joint patrol on the Mekong River on March 24.

The Lao Government has decided to postpone all big meetings gathering large number of people for major celebrations in 2020 as a strong measure to prevent outbreaks of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Two Vietnamese nationals were killed and four others injured in a bus accident in Laos on March 9, according to the Vietnamese Consulate General in Savanakhet province.

The building of hydropower projects on the Mekong River’s mainstream must ensure that they do not cause negative impacts, said a Vietnamese official.

In late 2019, 20 Lao people living in the Tay Giang and Nam Giang border district of Quang Nam province were granted Vietnamese citizenship.

Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) have signed five contracts to buy electricity from two Lao firms in the 2021-2022 period following Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s approval.

Nam Dinh, a rice-growing province in northern Vietnam, has more than 70 craft villages. Co Chat silk village in Truc Ninh district is one of the best known.

The directors of the departments of State Records Management and Archives of Laos and Vietnam yesterday signed on a MoU to enhance co-operation in archival management especially sharing the documents relating to Indochina.

The national archive agencies of Vietnam and Laos signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation in 2020 at a ceremony in Hanoi on December 3.

A new-born baby from Laos has been transported by air to Hanoi for the emergency treatment of heart problems.

Border guards operating in Dien Bien province have co-operated with their counterparts in Laos to successfully arrest two Laotian traffickers as they were in the process of transporting a large quantity of drugs into Vietnam.

Investigative police in Dien Bien have arrested two suspects for their alleged involvement in a transnational drug trafficking ring, with 220 packs of heroin, weighing 77 kilograms, being seized.

Recently, an agreement between the Vietnamese and Lao governments engaging on addressing undocumented migration and marriages has contributed to maintaining safety and order in the locality.

Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos should work together across their borders to fight the illegal drug trade, said participants at the 18th trilateral/bilateral ministerial meeting on drug control co-operation   among the three nations.

Nine Lao citizens who are irregular migrants or have undocumented marriages and currently residing in the border district of A Luoi, Vietnam’s central province of Thua Thien-Hue, took Vietnamese nationality on September 6.