In his opening remarks, Lieutenant General Somphone Mittaphone, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Lao People's Army, appreciated the support from other ASEAN member countries for Laos as Chair of the bloc this year.

Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien speaks at the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials' Meeting in Vientiane, Laos, on September 25.

He said the theme of the ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2024 – "ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience", as well as the theme of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and the ADMM+ this year – "ASEAN: Together for Peace, Security and Resilience" emphasise Laos' commitment to promoting peace and security in the region.

At the ADSOM, heads of the delegations extended sympathies for Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar on the losses caused by Typhoon Yagi, hoping that the countries will soon overcome the consequences of this devastating storm.

The meeting listened to reports on the outcomes of the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials' Working Group (ADSOM WG), the 17th Annual Meeting of the Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutes (NADI-17) and the 21st ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Meeting (ACDFM-21), along with defence cooperation among the member states.

Regarding the ASEAN Military Intelligence Community (AMIC) initiative, proposed by Vietnam and approved at the ACDFM, Chien said that Vietnam will organise the first AMIC leaders' meeting in Hanoi this November to implement the initiative, and it hopes to that ASEAN countries will participate in this conference.

During the meeting, heads of the ASEAN delegations also approved and agreed to submit new initiatives to the ADMM. They also reached consensus on the draft ADMM joint statement and discussed the preparations for the ADSOM+, ADMM and ADMM+, as well as the observership programme for the 2024-2027 cycle.

On the sidelines of the ADSOM, Deputy Minister Chien had bilateral meetings with Lao Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Vongkham Phommakon, Lieutenant General Somphone Mittaphone, and heads of the delegations from Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia to discuss Vietnam's defence ties with the countries.

Top leaders of Vietnam and Laos hold talks in Hanoi

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President of Vietnam To Lam held talks with visiting General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith following an official welcome ceremony for the Lao leader in Hanoi on September 10.

Vietnam-Laos special relationship - common invaluable asset, source of great strength

The upcoming state visit to Vietnam by General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith and his spouse from September 10-13 shows the great importance that senior leaders of the two countries have attached to the Vietnam-Laos relationship, a senior Party official has said.

Vietnamese-language eloquent contest held in Laos

The final round of the "I love Vietnamese" contest was held on August 20 in Savannakhet province, Laos, for both Lao and Vietnamese students in the locality to show their command of the language.

First Viettel Marathon Series to span Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia

The Viettel Marathon Series 2024, the first of its kind, is set to launch with races across Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in the last two months of this year.

Vietnam, Laos strengthen trade relations

The Vietnam - Laos Trade Fair 2024 (VIETLAO EXPO), the largest annual trade promotion event co-hosted by the two countries’ Ministries of Industry and Trade, is being held in Vientiane from July 25 to 29.

Vietnam attends ASEAN meetings within AMM-57 framework in Laos

A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet, who is also head of the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) delegation of Vietnam, attended the Meeting of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Commission and the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Interface with the Representatives of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) in Vientiane on July 24.