On March 26, 2024, in Vientiane, Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone had a courtesy meeting with the high-ranking delegation of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) of Viet Nam led by Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra.
Vietnamese Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra (L) and Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.
Mr. Nguyen Ba Hung, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos, and MoHA delegation members attended the call.
During the reception, Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra expressed sincere gratitude for the warm reception, which created favourable conditions for the effective cooperation activities between MoHA of Laos and Viet Nam during the past period, under the direction of Laos government’s leadership. She also informed Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone about the cooperation results between the two ministries as well as the results of her talks with her Lao counterpart on March 25.
She emphasized that in recent times, the two ministries have successfully carried out many important tasks assigned by the Lao government in various areas, such as institutional improvement, organizational restructuring to streamline the apparatus from central to local levels, local government management, administrative boundary delimitation, and management of civil servants.
Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra affirmed that under any circumstances, the Vietnamese side would do its best to implement Viet Nam-Laos cooperation programs to join in maintaining and nurturing the special solidarity between the two countries.
Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra proposed the Lao Prime Minister continue to pay attention and create favourable conditions to support the key cooperation activities of the two ministries in the coming time, including (1) personnel training in public administration, archives management, religious affairs, emulation and commendation, and State organization science, as outlined in the Agreements and Annual Cooperation Agreements between the two sides; (2) sending Lao officials and civil servants to attend short training courses (lasting from one to three months) in home affairs sector at the Vietnam National Academy of Pulic Administration; (3) sending Lao students for training in the fields of public administration, public management, and archive management; (4) working with the Laos – Viet Nam Cooperation Committee to review and approve the proposal to develop a digital transformation project for the Lao Ministry of Home Affairs for the 2024 – 2025 period and towards 2030, utilizing funds from the Government of Viet Nam allocated for the Government of Laos.
Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra and Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone discussing at the reception.
For his part, Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone congratulated and highly appreciated the cooperation achievements between the two ministries in recent times. He emphasized the importance of restructuring the organizational apparatus towards being leaner, more efficient, and effective.
Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone proposed the two ministries to keep exchanging experiences in administrative reform, particularly digital transformation. He called on Viet Nam to continue support Laos in human resources training in the sector. The Lao government always prioritizes digital transformation in public administration, digital economy, and digital society, he said, asking the two ministries to coordinate with the two countries’ cooperation committees to develop a digital transformation project for the Lao Ministry of Home Affairs.
A group photo of Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra, and meeting participants.
An overview of the meeting.
