Within the framework of a working visit to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, on March 27, 2024, in Vientiane, the delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) led by Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra, had a working session with the Lao National Academy of Politics and Public Administration.
Minister of Home Affairs of Viet Nam Pham Thi Thanh Tra (L) and Director of the Lao National Academy of Politics and Public Administration of Laos Phuvong Onkhamsen at the reception.
Welcoming and working with the delegation of MoHA of Vietnam were Director of the Lao National Academy of Politics and Public Administration Phuvong Onkhamsen, leaders of the Lao National Academy of Politics and Public Administration, and leaders of relevant units.
Speaking at the reception, Director Phuvong Onkhamsen expressed gratitude and joy at welcoming the Minister and the delegation. He also highly appreciated the cooperation between the National Academy of Politics and Public Administration of Laos and the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) of Viet Nam, as well as the training results for Lao public officials at NAPA of Viet Nam in the past period.
Director Phuvong Onkhamsen also informed Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra and the delegation about the activities, functions, and tasks of his Academy. Additionally, he mentioned that the Covid-19 pandemic has affected and disrupted the exchange and contact between the two sides.
Director Phuvong Onkhamsen hopes that in the future, MoHA of Viet Nam will continue to support and assist so that Lao human resources and lecturers of the Lao National Academy of Politics and Public Administration can receive training at NAPA of Viet Nam. The specific training content will be discussed, exchanged and agreed upon by leaders of the academies in the two countries.
The Director of the Lao National Academy of Politics and Public Administration expressed gratitude to Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra for creating opportunities for Lao Secretaries to study and gain experience in Viet Nam during the past period.
An overview of the meeting.
For her part, Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra respectfully thanked Director Phuvong Onkhamsen, leaders and lecturers of the National Academy of Politics and Public Administration of Laos for the warm welcome extened to the Vietnamese delegation.
Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra also provided information and introduced the functions and tasks of NAPA of Viet Nam. NAPA, under the Ministry of Home Affairs of Viet Nam, is tasked with training and upgrading competencies, knowledge, and skills in administration, leadership, and management for public officials and human resource training.
She reviewed the cooperation results between the two academies in recent times. Specifically:
For short-term training cooperation activities, each year, NAPA of Viet Nam organizes 1 – 2 training courses with about 20 Lao public leaders and managers participating. As of 2023, NAPA has successfully organized 27 training courses on state management, administrative reform, archival management, enhancing advisory capacity, coordination and service, etc., for 551 Lao public leaders, managers and officials.
Regarding long-term training, on average, each year, there are about 20 – 30 undergraduates, 10 – 15 master’s students and 2 – 4 doctoral students from Laos studying at the Academy. Up to 2023, NAPA has admitted 635 international students, including 324 undergraduates, 283 master’s students and 28 doctoral students. Currently, there are 112 students, including 70 undergraduates and 42 graduate students, studying at NAPA of Viet Nam.
Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra emphasized that the two academies of Viet Nam and Laos have had a good traditional relationship through the exchange of leadership delegations, officials, and lecturers to share experiences in training and research in specialized fields. The National Academy of Politics and Public Administration of Laos has also invited experts, including professors, doctors, and lecturers from NAPA of Viet Nam, to Laos to deliver senior leadership training courses and faculty training.
To bring the cooperation in leadership and management training and administrative human resources between the two governments into a more substantial, effective, and deeper level, based on the foundation and achievements of the cooperation, Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra proposed that the two academies of Viet Nam and Laos enhance their exchange and development of cooperative relations in the following directions: (i) Coordinate in developing high-quality training programs for public leaders and managers between the two sides; (ii) Collaborate in training lecturers and share experiences to improve the quality of training; (iii) Coordinate om organizing international workhops and seminars on issues of mutual interest (either in person or online); support each other in international and regional forums and organizations on public administration; (iv) Conduct joint comparative studies on innovation and integration of each country, administrative development trends as well as areas of mutual concern; (v) Collabroate in conducting post-training evaluations for Lao students and participants after studying in Viet Nam.
Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra hopes that, with the sincerity and solidarity of the two peoples and with the coordination from the Lao Ministry of Home Affairs, both sides will unanimously strive to expand and improve the quality and effectiveness of cooperative activities in all areas, particularly emphasizing cooperation in training for public leaders, managers, and officials and administrative human resources development.
Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra and Director of the Lao National Academy of Politics and Public Administration Phuvong Onkhamsen exchanging souvenirs.
Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra and Director of the Lao National Academy of Politics and Public Administration Phuvong Onkhamsen exchanging souvenirs.
A group photo of Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra, Director Phuvong Onkhamsen, and meeting participants.
