Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Laos have enjoyed fruitful cooperation in social sciences and humanities research, making it a solid foundation for bilateral all-round collaboration and contributing to the development of the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

Playing a key role in promoting cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in this field, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) have conducted collaboration programmes in research, training, policy consultancy and experience sharing in social sciences and humanities and national development between Vietnam and Laos.

According to Nguyen Thanh Ha, Head of the VASS’ Department of International Cooperation, over the past six decades, the VASS has set up fruitful partnerships with many Lao partners such as the National Institute of Economic and Social Sciences (LASES) and the National Academy of Politics and Public Administration (NAPPA).

The two sides have maintained annual international conferences and forums within the bilateral and multilateral cooperation frameworks, while organising regular delegation exchanges to share theory research results and practical summaries, providing scientific references for the formulation of policies of the Party and State of Vietnam and Laos, and strengthening the special friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

In research cooperation, the academy and Lao partner agencies have implemented many practical projects for real life and socio-economic development, including two projects on sustainable development in Laos and Vietnam in the context of international integration, and economic restructuring of Vietnam and Laos towards rapid and sustainable development. With the participation of many researchers and experts from both countries, these projects have not only helped analyse and evaluate urgent development issues, international experience, but also proposed policy implications and specific solutions in the process of building socialism in the two countries, said Ha.

The official said that Vietnam and Laos have shared experience in managing research activities, as well as high-quality human resources training and infrastructure upgrading.

Particularly, the VASS and the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics have coordinated with the LASES and NAPPA to successfully organise many exchanges among young generations of agencies, contributing to educating and raising awareness of young scientists and lecturers of agencies about the responsibility of fostering the special friendship between the two countries.

Dr. Phan Chi Hieu, President of the VASS, said that the close cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in the field of social sciences and humanities research is a clear demonstration of the special relationship between the two countries.

Hieu held that the cooperation will not only stop at traditional training and research programmes, but will also be further expanded to new fields to meet the requirements of the times, especially amid many socio-economic and environmental challenges facing the world.

The results achieved so far are a solid foundation for Vietnam-Laos social sciences and humanities cooperation to continue to go further in the future.

ౠWith promising future prospects, this cooperation is expected to not only continue to promote traditional values but also grow to new areas with ౠmany new forms and increasingly expanding scale, Hieu underlined./.