The delegation was led by Hoang Van Nghiem, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Son La provincial Party Committee and head of the province’s delegation to the National Assembly. It also included members of the provincial Party Committee’s Standing Board, leaders of the provincial People’s Committee and representatives of several provincial departments and agencies.

Representing Houaphanh province was Phouthphan Keovongsay, member of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council, along with other provincial leaders.

Established in 1980, Phan La High School initially operated under the names “Secondary-High School No. 1” and “Phan La High School”, receiving non-refundable aid from Son La province. In the 1996-1997 academic year, it officially adopted the name “Phan La High School”. The name combines “Phan”, derived from Houaphanh province, and “La”, from Son La province, symbolising the friendship, solidarity and cooperation between the two localities.

In 2003, Son La continued its support by providing more than 5 billion VND (193,480 USD) to build a two-storey academic building with six classrooms. In 2015, the province allocated more than 1.7 billion LAK (75,674 USD) to support the construction of a new assembly hall in coordination with Houaphanh province. The assistance has helped improve the school’s teaching and learning facilities and provided better conditions for its activities.

Phan La High School currently has 59 teachers and 1,344 students across 27 classes. Over 46 years of development, the school has educated generations of students and contributed to Houaphanh’s workforce, with many graduates achieving outstanding results and winning awards at the national level.

During the visit, the Son La delegation presented the school with a computer set to support teaching and learning and improve teachers’ and students’ access to information technology.

The visit underscored Son La province’s continued commitment to supporting education in Houaphanh and sustaining the longstanding tradition of cooperation and mutual assistance between the two provinces./.