The foreign ministries of Vietnam and Laos held their second political consultation in the Lao capital city of Vientiane on May 31. 

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Dinh Quy and his Lao counterpart Khamphau Onthavan co-chaired the function. 

At the meeting, the two sides noted with pleasure the enhanced cooperation between Vietnam and Laos across fields, ranging from politics, security and national defence to economy, trade, investment, transport, education and training. 

In 2017, the two countries plan to exchange many all-level visits and are joining hands to organise activities celebrating the Vietnam-Laos Solidarity and Friendship Year, they said. 

The two sides looked into bottlenecks in the bilateral ties and agreed to continue close coordination to foster the special relationship in the time ahead, especially through the implementation of agreements reached by Vietnamese and Lao high-ranking leaders, and successful organisation of the Solidarity and Friendship Year.  

In a parallel effort, they will renew communications methods to raise the sense of responsibility among the two countries’ people, especially youths, for preserving and carrying forward the relationship. 

Reviewing the realisation of cooperation agreements between the two foreign ministries during 2014-2020, they applauded contributions made by the agencies to deepening the Vietnam-Laos time-honoured friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation over the past time. 

Khamphau Onthavan thanked the Vietnamese side for training Lao diplomats at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. 

The two ministries consented to forge their collaboration while partnering with other ministries, agencies and localities of both sides to fruitfully implement high-level agreements between the two countries and their own deals signed for 2014-2020. 

They will also work with each other to prepare for the fourth annual consultation between foreign ministers. 

Following the meeting, the two sides engaged in a roundtable to discuss foreign policies in respective countries, along with regional and international issues of shared concern. 

They agreed to continue closely coordinating with each other at regional and international forums, especially within the cooperation framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). 

They will team up with other ASEAN nations to maintain the role and common stance of the ten-member group on strategic issues in the region. 

The third political consultation is set to take place in Vietnam in 2018.

VNA