President Vo Van Thuong has asked the Vietnamese community in Laos to set its sights on long-term sustainable business growth even though weathering current short-term difficulties will be complicated.
During Tuesday’s meeting with the Vietnamese community in Laos, Thuong praised the patriotism and contributions made by Vietnamese people and enterprises in Laos.
For their part, Vietnamese enterprises in Laos proposed that more measures should be taken to support investment, especially capital, to improve competitiveness and expand operations.
The President said he had asked relevant agencies to provide appropriate solutions.
About 100,000 Vietnamese live, work, or study in Laos, with nearly 40,000 located in the capital of Vientiane, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung.
After his meetings in Vientiane, Thuong wrapped up his two-day visit to Laos and returned home from his first foreign trip since taking office last month.
Vietnam and Laos established diplomatic relations in September 1962, and raised the label of their “traditional friendship” to “great friendship” in February 2019.
Vietnam has currently invested some $4.7 billion in 219 projects in Laos, making it Laos’ third largest foreign investor after China and Thailand.
Bilateral trade last year increased 25% to around $1.7 billion.