At the working session, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Trần Tiến Dũng discussed the province’s potentials, advantages, and prevailing difficulties and bottlenecks in socio-economic development, particularly regarding the border-gate economy, border trade, and investment attraction. Endowed with an important strategic location and sharing national borders with both Laos and China, Điện Biên possesses numerous favorable conditions to expand trade, develop logistics services and tourism, and strengthen international cooperation.

To effectively exploit these potentials and advantages, Điện Biên province proposed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continue paying attention to and supporting the official opening of the A Pa Chải - Long Phú bilateral border gate, while strengthening border cooperation with Laos and China. Concurrently, the province requested assistance in broadening commercial connectivity, developing logistics services and tourism, and attracting investors into deep agricultural processing, thereby contributing to elevating product value and generating momentum for local economic development.

At the working session, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Minh Vũ, together with members of the working delegation, expressed gratitude for the respectful and attentive reception extended by Điện Biên province; at the same time, they exchanged views and deliberated on the locality’s recommendations and proposals.

Based on practical survey findings, the delegation suggested several solutions to maintain, exploit, and effectively promote the economic value of border gates - especially in boosting trade, developing logistics services, enhancing market connectivity, and fostering cross-border economic cooperation.

Assessing that Điện Biên retains substantial headroom for growth, particularly in tourism, agriculture, and the border-gate economy, Nguyễn Minh Vũ affirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to pay attention to and accompany the province in external affairs, enhancing connectivity and promoting the locality’s image, potentials, and strengths through external communications channels; while assisting investment promotion and expanding international cooperation, contributing to the effective exploitation of resources and driving the province’s socio-economic development forward.