Bilateral economic cooperation is further enhanced. On investment, Vietnam ranks second among countries investing in Laos with more than 200 projects worth 3.57 billion USD in total. Regarding trade, two-way trade recorded a year-on-year increase of 49.8 percent to 734 million USD in 2011. Vietnam and Laos strive to raise the figure to 1 billion USD in 2012 and 2 billion USD in 2015.
Additionally, both countries have achieved significantly in education with the signing and implementation of a scheme to raise quality and efficiency of Vietnam-Laos cooperation in education and human resource development during the 2011-2020 period.
Bilateral cooperation in transport and communications, culture, sports and tourism and other fields are being promoted. Focus is being paid to cooperation between the two countries’ localities. Over the recent past, the two countries’ border localities have bolstered friendship, solidarity and cooperation to ensure security and order, stability and development in the border. Cooperation between cities and localities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the central province of Ha Tinh in Vietnam and Vientiane, Champassak and Khammoune provinces of Laos have been expanded, particularly in economics and trade, which has helped meet localities’ development requirements and exploit their potentials and strengths in land, natural resources and personnel.
In addition to bilateral cooperation, the two countries have beefed up cooperation within the international and regional frameworks, including the ASEAN, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV), Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV), t he Ayeyawady - Chao Phraya - Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy ( ACMECS ) and the East Asia Summit (EAS).
Vietnam has actively assisted Laos in organising the 9 th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 9) Summit and the Seventh Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP7) Meeting slated for the end of this year and boosted cooperation with Laos within the Mekong River Commission and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms.