VOV.VN - Vietnam and Laos are tightening economic ties and streamlining cross-border logistics to push bilateral trade toward a strategic US$10 billion milestone in the near future.
The 2026 Vietnam-Laos Business Matchmaking Seminar, held on July 17 under the theme "Connecting Businesses - Expanding Markets - Towards the US$10 Billion Vietnam-Laos Trade Target," was a flagship event of the ongoing the Vietnam-Laos trade fair VIETLAO EXPO 2026 in Vientiane.
The event attracted 120 delegates, including State management agencies, trade associations, and business leaders spanning agriculture, processing industries, logistics, energy, and services, with the goal of forging cross-border production and supply chains.
Opening the seminar, Bui Quang Hung, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), emphasized that economic, investment, and trade cooperation remain core drivers of sustainable and autonomous development for both nations.
To realize the US$10 billion trade vision set by both countries’ senior leaders, Hung noted that the immediate priority is helping businesses establish direct trade connections, cutting unnecessary intermediary costs, and optimizing cross-border logistics infrastructure. He pledged that Vietnam’s MoIT will consistently support enterprises through synchronized digital and in-person trade promotion mechanisms.
Representing the host country, Chattouphonh Nakhavith, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Trade Department under the Lao MoIT, highly appreciated the annual coordination between the two ministries.
He stated that the Lao Government is aggressively improving its business environment by simplifying administrative procedures, digitizing its National Single Window system, and offering robust incentives within Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
Laos is actively encouraging capable Vietnamese investors to increase high-quality foreign direct investment (FDI), enhance manufacturing linkages, and transfer technology, particularly in organic agriculture and deep processing, to build sustainable value chains connecting the two economies.
Key presentations at the seminar highlighted steady growth in bilateral trade, resulting from the effective implementation of the Vietnam-Laos Bilateral Trade Agreement and Border Trade Agreement.
The two economies share a highly complementary trade structure, where Vietnam mainly exports steel, transportation vehicles, spare parts, machinery, equipment, garments, and processed agricultural products to Laos.
In return, Laos serves as a crucial supplier of raw inputs for Vietnamese industries, providing natural rubber, wood products, ores, minerals, and high-quality raw agricultural commodities.
However, delegates and experts frankly acknowledged that current trade volumes have yet to match the full potential of the two countries' special political relationship. To achieve a breakthrough, both sides urged immediate action to clear chronic bottlenecks, specifically upgrading transport infrastructure along the East-West Economic Corridor, optimizing customs clearance at international border gates to lower logistics costs, and finalizing local currency payment mechanisms to facilitate border trade.
The seminar concluded with the signing of dozens of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and principle contracts, yielding immediate and practical business connections.
In the agricultural and food sectors, Vietnamese suppliers successfully engaged major Lao retail networks to stock processed goods and advanced negotiations to supply raw Robusta coffee beans, while Lao traditional food producers discussed plans with Vietnamese partners for joint-venture processing plants to scale up production.
Additionally, regional supply chains were strengthened as Vietnamese wellness and consumer goods manufacturers secured product-processing agreements with regional buyers and initiated product placements with major supermarket chains like Vinmart in Laos.
These clear commercial results are expected to lay a solid foundation for raising bilateral trade to US$4 billion within 2026, moving toward the strategic US$10 billion milestone in the near future.
VOV.VN - Vietnam and Laos are entering a new phase of economic cooperation, with both countries prioritising deeper trade, stronger infrastructure connectivity and expanded investment towards increasing bilateral trade to US$4 billion in 2026 and US$10 billion by 2030.
VOV.VN - The Vietnam-Laos Trade Fair 2026 (VIETLAO EXPO 2026) opened at the Lao-ITECC Trade Centre in Vientiane on July 16 with the aim of strengthening economic, trade and investment cooperation and advancing strategic cohesion between the two countries.
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