Thanh Hoa (VNA) – Thanh Hoa province of Vietnam and Houaphanh province of Laos are set to reinforce comprehensive cooperation, especially in border and territory management, next year, heard a recent meeting.

In 2025, the two provinces will collaborate in law dissemination and specialised training to improve the capacity of land border management personnel. Control over people, vehicles, and goods passing their border gates will be tightened to ensure border security and fight smuggling and trade fraud.

They will also enhance borderline and border marker management and protection, boost coordination between border localities, and maintain regular meetings as well as unilateral and bilateral patrols.

Basing on the cooperation agreement between Thanh Hoa and Houaphanh, their border localities will hold annual meetings to review collaboration results and sign cooperation deals for the following years.

Standing Vice Chairman of the Thanh Hoa People’s Committee Nguyen Van Thi said that building on the time-tested and close-knit relations between Vietnam and Laos, Thanh Hoa and Houaphanh have been working hard to bolster all-round ties, including in border and territory management.

In 2024, he noted, relevant forces of the two sides have properly carried out borderline and border marker management and protection, preventing complicated cases in border areas. They have also sustained frequent information exchange and border control, uncovered and handled violations in a timely manner, and proposed solutions to damaged border markers.

Good border management has also facilitated cross-border trade, contributing to economic and trade partnerships between the two countries, according to Thi.

For his part, Houaphanh Deputy Governor Phoutphan Keovongxay affirmed that his province will step up the solidarity and friendship with Thanh Hoa.

He called on the central province of Vietnam to continue providing financial support for building and repairing damaged border markers, assist border guard forces of both sides, and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in the manufacturing and processing industry in Houaphanh.

The official also invited Vietnamese firms to come to build border markets, especially in the vicinity of the Namsoi International Border Gate of Laos, to help fuel bilateral trade and services.

ꦛ The two provinces share 213km of borderline. Thanh Hoa has 15 communes of five districts adjacent to 33 villages of three districts in Houaphanh./.