The State Bank of Vietnam and the Bank of the Lao People's Democratic Republic exchanged a memorandum of understanding on priority banking cooperation for 2026-2030, setting out a five-year framework for deeper central bank collaboration. The memorandum envisages knowledge sharing, technical assistance and human-capital training from the State Bank of Vietnam to its Lao counterpart across key central bank functions, including monetary policy operations, foreign exchange reserve management, payment system development, oversight of fintech services development, and currency issuance and printing. The two central banks also set a cooperation focus on deploying mechanisms to increase the use of local currencies in payments and transfers supporting bilateral trade, investment and corporate borrowing, alongside supervisory guidance to facilitate increased cooperation between banks in both countries. The release linked the cooperation to growing bilateral trade and investment, including nearly USD 2.5bn in trade over the first 10 months of 2025 and 274 Vietnamese investment projects in Laos with registered capital of more than USD 5.8bn. The cooperation programme is intended to run throughout 2026-2030.
State Bank of Vietnam 2025-12-02
State Bank of Vietnam signs 2026-2030 cooperation memorandum with the Bank of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on technical assistance and local-currency payments
The State Bank of Vietnam and the Bank of the Lao People's Democratic Republic signed a memorandum of understanding for 2026-2030 to enhance central bank collaboration. The agreement includes knowledge sharing, technical assistance, and training in areas such as monetary policy, foreign exchange management, and fintech oversight. It also aims to boost local currency use in bilateral trade and investment, reflecting growing economic ties.