Vietnam, Laos Strengthen Solidarity Through Defence Cooperation

Vietnam and Laos have agreed to strengthen their traditional friendship and solidarity by enhancing defense cooperation and coordination in border protection, aiming to promote peace, friendship, stability, and development cooperation in the region. Laos' Party General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith stated that inspection work should not only recognize good practices but also uncover shortcomings, misconduct, and law violations, while fully assessing losses incurred by the State, organizations, individuals, and citizens' legitimate interests. The two sides also agreed to continue regular professional exchanges and experience sharing to further strengthen cooperation between their finance ministries. Thorough preparations will not only ensure the successful organization of APEC 2027 events but also help showcase Vietnam as a friendly, peaceful, and stable destination while promoting the cultural features and tourist attractions of Phu Quoc and An Giang to the international community. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's 83rd taskforce arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on July 5 for a five-day goodwill visit aimed at strengthening defense cooperation and mutual understanding between the naval forces of Vietnam and China. Vietnam is willing to support Timor-Leste through bilateral cooperation as well as mechanisms within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Charge d'Affaires of Vietnam to Timor-Leste Pham Binh Dam. PM Le Minh Hung stressed that successfully implementing these focal tasks will not only determine Vietnam's growth performance in 2026 but also lay the cornerstone for strong economic restructuring and a new development model in the years ahead. Implementation capacity, rather than institutional frameworks, has now become the greatest obstacle to development, said Party General Secretary and State President To Lam. Nguyen Kim Son, Vice Chairman of the CPV Central Committee's Commission for Strategies and Policies, affirmed Vietnam always treasures its traditional friendship with France and the PCF, noting that the Vietnamese Party, State, and people always remember and appreciate the valuable support that the PCF has extended to Vietnam during the past struggles for national liberation, as well as the current period of national construction and development. In the letter and messages, the Vietnamese Party and State leaders congratulated the US on its tremendous achievements that have made it a leading world power over the past quarter millennium. During the conference, officials are set to discuss the socio-economic situation in June and the second quarter of 2026; the allocation and disbursement of public investment capital; the implementation of the national target programmes; and the implementation of state budget-related tasks in the first six months. 2026 marked the first time the Pacific Partnership programme and the Pacific Friendship programme have been held simultaneously in Quang Tri, demonstrating the increasingly substantive and effective cooperation between Vietnam and the US, while reaffirming the province's active role in promoting international cooperation for community welfare and sustainable development. Noting that Ghana became Vietnam's fourth-largest trading partner in Africa and that two-way trade exceeded 1 billion USD for the first time in 2025, Tuan proposed broadening and diversifying traded goods, establishing information-sharing mechanisms on markets, policies and business opportunities, and accelerating negotiations on key economic agreements, including those on double taxation avoidance and investment promotion and protection. Giang praised officers and professional soldiers deployed to Venezuela in the aftermath of the powerful twin earthquakes that struck the Latin American country on June 24 night, causing heavy casualties and widespread devastation. The draft revised Land Law has been added to the 2026 legislative programme and will be submitted to the NA for consideration at its second session this October. A Quang Tri official described the PP – PF programme as a practical initiative that enhances mutual understanding, builds trust and expands cooperation in humanitarian assistance, disaster response and community support. The Vietnamese diplomat proposed the ACT Chief Minister consider signing a friendship and cooperation agreement with Hanoi, laying an important foundation for expanding ties across a wide range of areas between the two capitals in the future. The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency. After more than 12 years of participation in UN peacekeeping operations, the Ministry of National Defence has deployed nearly 1,400 personnel from the Vietnam People’s Army to missions, UN headquarters, and liaison offices in Belgium. While traditional electronic kiosks mainly provide information lookup or queue-number services, the new AI kiosk applied by Dong Tien commune in Thanh Hoa province incorporates technologies such as AI, a conversational virtual assistant, voice recognition, natural language processing (NLP), optical character recognition (OCR), and connectivity with the VNeID digital identity platform and the national online public service system. Reaffirming Vietnam’s consistent position of condemning terrorism in all forms, manifestations and motivations, Minister Counsellor Nguyen Hai Luu, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, called on UN member states to strengthen cooperation in investigating, prosecuting and bringing to trial individuals and organisations responsible for planning, carrying out or financing terrorist acts, including those linked to terrorist incidents in Vietnam in recent years. The following is a list of selected news summaries reported last night by the Vietnam News Agency. Another key priority is the vigorous implementation of Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW on science, technology, innovation and digital transformation. The ministry was tasked with leading a 100-day nationwide campaign to review and complete outstanding tasks related to the resolution, with detailed weekly and monthly action plans and clearly assigned responsibilities, said Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung. Copyright, VietnamPlus, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Editor-in-chief, Mr. Tran Tien Duan.