Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosts int’l guests

Welcoming Lao Minister of Education and Sports Thongsalith Mangnormek and his delegation to Viet Nam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hoped that the visit would further strengthen the special Viet Nam–Laos relationship and promote effective, trustworthy cooperation between Viet Nam's Ministry of Education and Training and the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports.

Pham took the occasion to call on the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports to closely coordinate with Viet Nam's Ministry of Education and Training to translate high-level agreements into concrete programs and projects, following the principle of ensuring focus, prioritization and effective implementation.

Key tasks include accelerating the establishment of the Lao–Viet Nam University and the Viet Nam Cultural Center in Laos; coordinating the enrolment of Lao students from border areas in Viet Nam's semi-boarding inter-level schools; and enhancing the teaching and learning of the Lao and Vietnamese languages in both countries, including offering Vietnamese as an elective foreign language in Lao schools.

The two sides will also continue expanding academic exchange programs, strengthening traditional education, and nurturing the long-standing friendship between the two nations.

In reply, Minister Thongsalith Mangnormek briefed the host on the outcomes of the visit. The Lao minister said his ministry held working sessions with Viet Nam's Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Ministry of Science and Technology to promote cooperation in education, training, sports, science and technology.

He added that preparations for establishing the Lao–Viet Nam University are underway, including securing suitable land and finalizing plans for the university's curriculum, scale and construction schedule.

The Lao side has also launched pilot programs to send students from border areas to study in Viet Nam. Currently, 13 educational institutions in Laos offer Vietnamese language courses, while teacher training programs for Lao and Vietnamese language instructors continue to expand language education in both countries.

Minister Thongsalith Mangnormek said Laos has formulated its national development strategy through 2035 and looks forward to Viet Nam's continued assistance in training high-quality human resources, particularly in science, technology and sports. He affirmed his confidence that Viet Nam will remain a reliable partner in education, training and sports cooperation.

Receiving Governor of Tochigi Prefecture Fukuda Tomikazu, Prime Minister Pham said that local-level exchanges, people-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges between the two countries have become increasingly dynamic and close. The Vietnamese community in Japan has now exceeded 630,000 people, while more than 2,000 Japanese enterprises — including 22 from Tochigi Prefecture — are investing and operating in Viet Nam.

The host leader thanked Governor Fukuda and the Tochigi authorities for their active support in fostering friendly cooperation with Viet Nam, particularly the partnership between Tochigi and Phu Tho province in areas such as economy, investment, trade, tourism, human resources and culture. He also expressed appreciation for the prefectural government's continued care and assistance for nearly 9,000 Vietnamese nationals living, studying and working in Tochigi.

Sharing Viet Nam's development goals and solutions in the new era — described as the era of the nation's rise — Pham was convinced that Japan in general, and Tochigi Prefecture and Governor Fukuda in particular, would continue to support and cooperate with Viet Nam in materializing these objectives.

He called on Tochigi to further promote substantive and comprehensive cooperation with Vietnamese localities, including those with which it already maintains ties such as Phu Tho Province, through concrete and practical projects that fully leverage each side's strengths and potential, ensure mutual benefits, and explore opportunities to expand cooperation with other suitable Vietnamese localities.

The Prime Minister also suggested that Tochigi continue encouraging its enterprises, including small and medium-sized businesses, to expand investment in Viet Nam in areas where the prefecture has strengths; enhance cooperation in human resources development; promote training collaboration and the reception of high-quality Vietnamese workers in line with the needs of both sides; and maintain favorable conditions and practical support policies for the Vietnamese community in Tochigi.

For his part, Governor Fukuda, who is on his fourth visit to Viet Nam, expressed his pleasure at meeting the Prime Minister again and his admiration for Viet Nam's rapid development in recent years.

He hailed Viet Nam's improving investment and business environment, rich cultural heritage and hospitable people, and affirmed that Tochigi Prefecture and its businesses would continue to expand cooperation and investment in Viet Nam, particularly at the local level.

Reaffirming Tochigi's commitment to deepening cooperation with Viet Nam, including Phu Tho Province, Governor Fukuda said the prefecture will further promote collaboration in labor cooperation and tourism exchanges and continue to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community residing in Tochigi./.