The Bank of the Lao published an update on its 2025 annual bilateral meeting with the State Bank of Vietnam, which reviewed macroeconomic and foreign exchange management implementation for 2025 and discussed plans for 2026, alongside a new five-year cooperation orientation for 2026-2030. The agenda covered banking and financial sector development, progress and challenges in promoting the use of local currency, and a review of bilateral cooperation results over 2021-2025 with a focus plan for 2026. The meeting also included an exchange of lessons on the development of financial centres in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, and a separate session with Vietnamese commercial banks operating in Lao PDR to discuss operational performance, constraints and proposals, and to consider approaches to address those proposals. Next steps include continued implementation of high-level bilateral agreements and the signing of a memorandum of understanding on banking-sector cooperation for 2026-2030.