General Secretary and President To Lam receives the Minister of Justice of Laos.

On the morning of June 16, at the Party Central Headquarters, General Secretary and President To Lam received Comrade Khamphan Phommathat, Member of the Political Bureau, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Justice of Laos, and the delegation visiting and attending the 7th Expanded Conference of Justice Departments of Border Provinces between Vietnam and Laos in Vietnam.

General Secretary and President To Lam warmly welcomed and highly appreciated the significance of the visit and working trip to Vietnam by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Laos Khamphan Phommathat and his delegation; emphasizing that, along with visits by high-ranking leaders of the two Parties and two countries following the successful conclusion of each Party's Congress, the visit of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Laos further demonstrates the high regard and priority given to consolidating and strengthening the great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation, and strategic linkage between Vietnam and Laos by the high-ranking leaders of the two Parties and two countries.

Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Khamphan Phommathat expressed his sincere gratitude and honor at being received by the General Secretary and President of Vietnam; he also respectfully conveyed the warm greetings of Lao General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith to General Secretary and President To Lam and other high-ranking leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Laos informed General Secretary and President To Lam about the situation of judicial work in Laos in the past period, the implementation of the Resolution of the 12th National Congress, the results of cooperation between the Ministries of Justice of Laos and Vietnam in the past period; the key contents that the two sides will discuss at this Conference, especially in the fields of: building and perfecting institutions and laws; resolving issues of nationality and civil registration in border areas; and training and developing high-quality human resources for the Lao judicial sector.

On this occasion, General Secretary and President To Lam shared some information about Vietnam's recent judicial reform activities. Accordingly, the Vietnamese Party and State have paid special attention to the work of building and perfecting the legal system and organizing the implementation of laws; the Politburo decided to consolidate the Central Steering Committee on Institutional and Legal Reform and the Central Steering Committee on Judicial Reform into the Central Steering Committee on Institutional and Law Enforcement.

Expressing his delight at the positive development of the special Vietnam-Laos relationship, General Secretary and President To Lam highly appreciated the results of the visits by high-level leaders of the two countries in the past period, including the official visit to Vietnam and participation in the 3rd ASEAN Future Forum by Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone from June 7-9.

The General Secretary and President emphasized that the good development of relations between the two countries is due to the contributions of many ministries, departments, and localities of both countries, including the important contributions of the two Ministries of Justice; affirming that Vietnam always attaches great importance and gives the highest priority to consolidating and strengthening the great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation, and strategic linkage between Vietnam and Laos, considering this a strategic task for the development of each country. Vietnam has always supported Laos' development and is ready to share its experience with Laos in all fields.

Acknowledging and commending the positive results of cooperation between the Vietnamese and Lao Ministries of Justice over the past 40 years, General Secretary and President To Lam suggested that in the coming time, the two Ministries of Justice should continue to uphold the fine traditions, strengthen mutual support and assistance, coordinate closely, enhance the exchange of information and work experience, jointly improve the legal capacity of judicial officials, and effectively coordinate to implement agreements at the level of cooperation between the two Parties and two countries, especially in building a suitable legal framework to effectively implement key connectivity projects.

Regarding the Conference of Justice Departments of Bordering Provinces between Vietnam and Laos, which is alternately organized by the Ministries of Justice of Vietnam and Laos, the General Secretary and President stated that this is a practical cooperation mechanism that contributes to maintaining security and order and promoting socio-economic development in the border areas of the two countries. The justice sectors of both countries need to proactively coordinate to resolve all issues arising in the border areas, creating favorable conditions for the people of both countries to trade, stabilize their lives, and contribute to building a peaceful, friendly, stable, and sustainably developing Vietnam-Laos border.

Comrade Khamphan Phommathat sincerely thanked Vietnam for its great, timely, and effective support and assistance to Laos throughout the years; he respectfully thanked General Secretary and President To Lam for his guidance on promoting cooperation between the two Ministries of Justice and coordinating the alternating organization of the Conference of Justice Departments of provinces sharing a border with Laos and Vietnam; and expressed his desire for both sides to strengthen the exchange and sharing of experiences, especially regarding the establishment of the Central Steering Committee on institutional improvement and law enforcement chaired by General Secretary and President To Lam.

Comrade Khamphan Phommathat affirmed that the Lao Ministry of Justice will continue to uphold its traditions and closely cooperate with the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice to perfect the structure of the legal system to meet the requirements of national development in the next phase, contributing to preserving and fostering the special solidarity between Laos and Vietnam.

On this occasion, General Secretary and President To Lam sent his best wishes to General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith and other high-ranking leaders of the Lao Party and State, expressing confidence that Comrade Khamphan Phommathat would have a fruitful working visit to Vietnam.