Phu Tho – Bokeo Strengthen Cooperation and Nurture Vietnam–Laos Friendship

On August 19, Comrade Tran Duy Dong — Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Chairman of the Phu Tho Provincial People’s Committee (PPC) — hosted a courtesy reception for a delegation from Bokeo Province, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, led by Major General Penkham Butchanpheng — Member of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Chairman of the Provincial People’s Council of Bokeo Province.

Attending the reception were Comrades: Bui Duc Hinh — Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People’s Council; Quach Tat Liem — Member of the Provincial Party Committee and Vice Chairman of the PPC; alongside leaders of several provincial departments and sectors.

Comrade Tran Duy Dong, Chairman of the Phu Tho PPC, and the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People’s Council of Bokeo at the reception.

On behalf of the provincial leadership, PPC Chairman Tran Duy Dong welcomed the Bokeo provincial delegation to visit and work in Phu Tho Province. Concurrently, he shared several outstanding achievements in local socio-economic development and highlighted cooperation results between Phu Tho and Bokeo across various fields.

In recent years, relations between Phu Tho and Lao localities in general, and Bokeo in particular, have consistently received attention from both leaderships, maintained through delegation exchanges, inter-agency and local cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.

The PPC Chairman emphasized: Phu Tho possesses strong advantages in industry, agriculture, education and training, services, and tourism, alongside a relatively synchronized network of educational and training institutions. These are sectors where Phu Tho can share expertise and step up cooperation with Bokeo Province. Among them, the province identifies education-training and human resource development as areas with vast cooperative potential.

Currently, Phu Tho Province is training Lao students across several educational institutions. Annually, the province provides approximately 100 scholarships for students from northern Lao provinces. Upon graduation and returning home, many former students have effectively demonstrated their capabilities, contributing to education, healthcare, state management, agriculture, and engineering.

Overview of the reception.

PPC Chairman Tran Duy Dong proposed that both provinces focus on promoting trade, investment, and tourism promotion activities alongside business matching; stepping up the exchange of information regarding investment climates, mechanisms, policies, potential, and advantages of each locality. Phu Tho stands ready to create favorable conditions for provincial enterprises to explore the Lao market, including Bokeo Province; while hoping Bokeo Province will offer favorable conditions for Phu Tho businesses to explore and deploy local cooperation opportunities.

PPC Chairman Tran Duy Dong proposed that in the coming time, both provinces focus on several key orientations, including continuing to maintain visits, meetings, and delegation exchanges between leaderships of both provinces, exchanging experience in Party building, political system building, and state management, as well as concretizing the Memorandum of Understanding on Friendly Cooperation dated May 2, 2026, into specific cooperation programs, assigning focal point agencies, and regularly inspecting and evaluating implementation results.

Both sides can also strengthen cooperation in agriculture, agro-forestry processing, science-technology, digital transformation, and environmental protection, while sharing experience and seeking cooperation models suited to practical conditions. Phu Tho identifies education-training and human resource development as a foundational, long-term field of cooperation with Bokeo Province, while simultaneously driving economic, trade, investment, and tourism cooperation and boosting cultural, sports, and youth exchanges, contributing to nurturing special Vietnam–Laos solidarity.

PPC Chairman Tran Duy Dong presents a souvenir gift to the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People’s Council of Bokeo.

Delegates take a commemorative photograph.

On behalf of the working delegation, the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People’s Council of Bokeo expressed gratitude for the warm reception from Phu Tho leaders; congratulated Phu Tho Province on achievements gained across various domains; and highly commended the province’s assistance to Bokeo Province in recent times.

He provided information on Bokeo’s potential and advantages; expressing the desire for Phu Tho Province to continue strengthening cooperation across sectors, particularly education-training, human resource development, agriculture, environment, and healthcare. Thereby, contributing to nurturing the friendly relationship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in general, and between Phu Tho and Bokeo provinces in particular.

Sincerely thanking the working delegation for their insights, PPC Chairman Tran Duy Dong spoke highly of the results achieved by Bokeo Province, especially maintaining political stability as a foundation to drive socio-economic development. Regarding Bokeo’s recommendations and proposals, the PPC Chairman assigned the Department of Foreign Affairs to lead and coordinate with relevant departments, boards, and sectors to track, urge, and advise on effective implementation.

Earlier, the working delegation from Bokeo Province visited and offered incense at the Hung Temple Special National Historical Relic Area.

Duc Anh