In recent years, Son La province has consistently received attention and favourable conditions from the Party Central Committee, the Government, and central ministries and agencies to implement external relations and international cooperation, especially in carrying out tasks for assisting nine Lao provinces, including Houaphanh, Luang Prabang, Oudomxay, Xaysomboun, Xiangkhouang, Phongsaly, Luang Namtha, Bokeo, and Xayabury.

To effectively implement high-level agreements between Vietnam and Laos, Son La province has focused on leading and directing the implementation of the central government documents on foreign affairs, as well as tasks and solutions for comprehensive cooperation with Lao provinces across various fields such as diplomacy; national defence and security; education, training, and human resource development; agriculture and forestry; cross-border trade and development support; culture, external relations, social affairs, healthcare, and people-to-people exchanges.

On November 25, 2025, the Government issued Decree No. 305/2025/ND-CP. Specifically, Point b, Clause 8, Article 7 stipulates that the total amount of aid provided by a Vietnamese locality to foreign localities in a year must not exceed 10% of the provincial-level local budget contingency. Additionally, Point b, Clause 12, Article 3 defines that non-project training under the annual plan refers to technical assistance activities aimed at training human resources for the aid recipient through short-term or long-term training courses organised by the Vietnamese side, implemented under simplified procedures and based on annual training plans and targets.

Meanwhile, Son La province’s training support for northern Lao provinces has been maintained for many years in line with the Party and State’s policy under high-level agreements between the two countries. Furthermore, under the cooperation agreements signed for the 2022–2026 period between Son La Province and the nine northern Lao provinces, Son La pledged a total investment of 53.9 billion VND (2.05 million USD) in several projects in the fields of education and training, health care, and others.

During the 2021–2025 period, the local budget contingency allocated annually is about 370–400 billion VND, of which the provincial-level contingency ranges from approximately 130–170 billion VND per year. Based on Point b, Clause 8, Article 7 of Decree No. 305/2025/ND-CP, the total annual aid spending of the province must not exceed 13–17 billion VND. However, the annual training support alone has already exceeded the permitted aid ratio. Therefore, the agreed support for northern Lao provinces to invest in projects has not yet been implemented according to the signed agreements.

At the meeting, Vice Chairman Hau requested departments and sectors to prepare necessary conditions for upcoming working visits by provincial delegations to two northern Lao provinces in line with committed contents. They were asked to coordinate in reporting difficulties so that the province can propose central ministries and agencies submit to the Government for approval, allowing Son La province to balance and allocate local budget resources proactively and take responsibility for aid commitments under the signed cooperation agreements with Laos’ northern provinces.