Da Nang, November 4, 2026 – Within the framework of the 2026 Trilateral Governor-level Dialogue among the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), and the Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL), the SBV and the BOL held a bilateral meeting in Da Nang. The meeting was co-chaired by SBV Governor Pham Duc An and BOL Governor Bounkham Vorachit.
SBV Governor Pham Duc An and BOL Governor Bounkham Vorachit co-chair the meeting.
The SBV delegation included Deputy Governor Nguyen Ngoc Canh, representatives of relevant SBV department and units, and representatives of SBV Regional Branch 9. The BOL delegation comprised representatives of relevant BOL units. Representatives of Vietnamese commercial banks operating in the Lao PDR also attended the meeting.
SBV Governor Pham Duc An delivers his opening remarks.
At the meeting, the two sides focused on promoting the use of the local currencies in bilateral payments, enhancing cross-border retail payment connectivity through QR codes, and identifying orientations for future cooperation.
Notably, QR payment connectivity between Vietnam and the Lao PDR had recorded more than 25,000 transactions as of October 2026, contributing to the facilitation of trade, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Building on this progress, the two sides discussed measures to expand the network of QR payment acceptance points, promote the implementation of payment flows from the Lao PDR to Vietnam, and encourage the use of the Lao kip and Vietnamese dong in bilateral transactions.
BOL Governor Bounkham Vorachit speaks at the meeting.
The meeting also reviewed cooperation outcomes between the two central banks in 2026, particularly in staff training, technical assistance, professional experience sharing, and other special cooperation activities.
Regarding cooperation orientations for 2027, the two central banks exchanged views on priority areas, with an emphasis on strengthening experience sharing in monetary policy management, foreign exchange management, and banking inspection and supervision; promoting cooperation in training, technical assistance, and digital transformation; and enhancing cross-border payment connectivity.
The two sides also discussed promoting exchange programs and professional exchanges to foster mutual understanding and closer ties among officials of the two central banks.
An overview of the meeting.
As part of the program, the two Governors also attended a dialogue with representatives of Vietnamese commercial banks operating in the Lao PDR, including BIDV, Vietcombank, VietinBank, MB, Sacombank, and SHB. During the dialogue, the banks shared key achievements in their business operations, payment service development, digital transformation, and financing of investment projects in the Lao PDR.
The dialogue also provided an opportunity to discuss initiatives to strengthen financial connectivity, promote the use of the local currencies in payments, and enhance the role of the banking system as a bridge for economic cooperation between Vietnam and the Lao PDR.
In his concluding remarks, SBV Governor Pham Duc An highly appreciated the cooperation achievements and substantive discussions between the two sides, while acknowledging the positive contributions made by Vietnamese commercial banks to the socio-economic development of the Lao PDR.
The SBV Governor called on the banks to build on their achievements, further promote technology adoption, develop modern banking products and services, and ensure safe and sound operations in compliance with the laws and regulations of the host country.
He also requested relevant units of the two central banks to strengthen coordination and experience sharing and translate the agreed cooperation orientations into practical activities suited to the circumstances of each country. These efforts are expected to enhance monetary and banking cooperation and further deepen the special friendship between Vietnam and the Lao PDR.
Delegations of the SBV, the BOL, and Vietnamese commercial banks pose for a group photo at the meeting.