Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Laotian counterpart Sonexay Siphandone witnessed the signing and exchange of cooperative agreements between several agencies and companies from the two nations to implement a slew of projects worth over US$1.8 billion, as part of an investment cooperation conference co-chaired by the two top officials in Vientiane on Thursday.

The deals were aimed at deepening the bilateral partnership and boosting two-way trade, according to the Vietnamese government's portal.

Among these projects are the Savan1 Wind Power Plant invested in by SDVIC Wind Power Joint Stock Company. The capital of the project was revised up to $32 million.

At the event, Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB) raised its investment in the Lao MB Bank project to 229.9 billion Lao kip ($10.5 million).

MB also signed deals with its partners to arrange funding for the Savan1 Wind Power Plant and Xekong Thermal Power Plant projects.

The Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment handed over an addendum to a contract to Vietnam’s Viet Phuong Investment Group JSC to develop a bauxite mining and aluminum processing plant project in Laos.

The facility has a designed capacity of one million metric tons of aluminum per year and will carry a price tag of approximately $1 billion.

The Lao ministry also delivered contracts for the development of five hydropower projects in Ka Lum District, Sekong Province to Viet Phuong, which will pour a combined $197 million into these projects.

The Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines granted a construction license to Vietnam National Chemical Group for a potash mining and processing project, which is worth $522.4 million.

In the aviation sector, Sovico Group JSC and Transport Engineering Design Inc. handed over a consulting contract to survey and plan the development of the airport system in Laos until 2030, with a vision toward 2050, to Laos' Ministry of Public Works and Transport and the Airports Corporation of Laos.

Additionally, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and Lao Airlines exchanged a memorandum of understanding to enhance and expand their cooperation.

In agriculture, Vinamilk, Vietnam’s leading dairy company, increased its investment in a dairy farm complex project in Laos to $85.2 million.

The Lao Department of Livestock and Fisheries and Viet-Lao Farm Corporation JSC exchanged an agreement on the development of a hi-tech aquaculture chain at Laos’ hydropower reservoirs.

Moreover, the Institute for Human Resource Development and International Cooperation, the Vietnam Business Association in Laos, and the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Laos signed a trilateral agreement for training human resources for businesses in Laos.

Cross-border QR code payments between Vietnam and Laos

Following the conference, under the witness of PM Chinh and Laotian Prime Minister Siphandone, the State Bank of Vietnam and the Bank of the Lao P.D.R. introduced a framework for currency payments and bilateral retail payments using QR codes between Vietnam and Laos.

With the completion of the legal framework and infrastructure for cross-border payments and money transfers, both sides agreed to encourage businesses to use local currencies in trade and investment activities between the two nations.

Enterprises were also urged to conduct foreign trade contracts and investment agreements using their respective local currencies.

The two prime ministers, joined by leaders of various ministries, officially launched the QR code retail payment system.

This initiative is expected to enhance tourism, consumer activities, and people-to-people exchanges, while fostering the use of local currencies in cross-border retail payments.

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