The foundation of the relationship

Xaysomboun is one of the poorest provinces in Laos, with per capita income of over 10 million LAK/year (1,209 USD/year), no borders and rugged mountainous terrain. Facing a lack of human resources and poor infrastructure, it is named in the list for development priorities by the Lao government.

The delegation of Bac Giang province visits the Xaysomboun Vocational Technical School.

Leaders of Laos and Xaysomboun hope that the province will be twinned with a number of Vietnamese localities with great potential to cooperate and receive support in socio-economic development, hunger eradication and poverty alleviation. And Bac Giang is one of the selected provinces.

Within the framework of the official friendly visit to Laos by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Party and State in August 2021, implementing the contents agreed by the senior leaders of the two Parties and States, Chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Giang province Le Anh Duong and Khamlieng Outthakaison, Governor of Xaysomboun province, signed a local-level international cooperation agreement for 2021-2025 between the two provinces. The signing took place in the witness of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Giang province Le Anh Duong and Governor of Xaysomboun province Khamlieng Outhakaysone ink the cooperation agreement (August 2021).

Accordingly, the two provinces agreed to establish a friendly cooperative relationship and strengthen communications and education about the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries. They will promote the image of the land, people, culture, potential and socio-economic development achievements of each other, as well as the collaboration between the two provinces to local officials and people.

Initial results

After signing the cooperation agreement, the People's Committee of Bac Giang province issued an implementation plan, assigning specific tasks to sectors, agencies and localities in the province. In order to concretize the agreement, in February 2022, Bac Giang province sent a working delegation including many leaders from departments, agencies, the Center for Foreign Languages – Informatics and Bac Giang Agriculture and Forestry University to the Lao province.

Based on the survey results, initially, Bac Giang province plans to welcome delegations of leaders and experts at the departmental and district levels of Xaysomboun province, and organize the exchange of experience on such topics as building government and personnel work; investment attraction and industrial development; developing high-quality commodity agriculture including supporting the development of four farming and four breeding models.

It supports trade promotion activities; new-style rural area building, one commune one produce (OCOP) programme; poverty reduction, labor training and job creation; development of tourism models and products; radio and television activities; law dissemination and education, grassroots-level mediation; science and technology development, building of agricultural and pedological maps.

The production line at Xaysomboun farm produce and herbal processing plant.

Bac Giang organizes field trips to a number of industrial, agricultural, service development areas, economic and tourism models, historical-cultural relic sites and spiritual areas of the province.

Student exchange programmes in homestays have been devised to help students learn about the culture of the two provinces and the two countries, while clubs teaching Vietnamese and Lao languages have been set up in an appropriate form.

Bac Giang provides scholarships to a number of excellent students from Xaysomboun to study at intermediate schools, colleges and universities in the province. It also supports the building of five schools in five districts of the Lao province

Besides, it organizes exchange activities between the two provinces’ people and visits to the old battlefields, especially for former experts and volunteers of Bac Giang province who came to support Laos in different periods and businesspeople, as well as student exchange programmes.

Bac Giang provincial delegation pays visit to Laos’ Xaisomboun province

(BGO) – Ngo Bien Cuong, Director of Department of Foreign Affairs in Bac Giang province led a working delegation to visit Laos’ Xaisomboun province to promote activities under bilateral Cooperative Agreement between two provinces from February 20 – 26.

Frost covers Fansipan Mountain peak in Lao Cai

Frost covered the top of Fansipan Mountain, the highest peak in Indochina, in Sa Pa town, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai early on February 14, as the temperature dropped below 0 degree Celsius.

Snow rain covers Mount Fansipan in Lao Cai

A light rain mixed with snow occurred on Mount Fansipan in Sa Pa township, the northern province of Lao Cai on February 6, lasting about 10 minutes in the early morning.

Vietnam exports 287 tonnes of farm produce to China through Lao Cai from Feb.1-3

Vietnam exported 287 tonnes of agricultural products to China via Kim Thanh border gate in the northern province of Lao Cai on the first three days of the Lunar New Year (February 1-3).

A visit to rural market of Can Cau in Lao Cai Province

Rural markets in the mountainous areas always bring unique travel experience to visitors. Visiting Si Mi Cai District in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, one should not miss visiting the rural market in Can Cau Commune, where they can explore distinct cultural features of the local ethnic groups.