Leaders of the VSS IT System Operation Centre, VSS office and the Customer Care and Support Service Centre were among the attendees.

Welcoming the LSSO delegation to the VSS office, Deputy Director General Dao Viet Anh emphasised that this is a meaningful activity continuing the series of cooperation activities between the VSS and LSSO within the framework of their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the 2022-25 period.

He affirmed that the VSS always attaches importance to and consolidates the social security cooperation with the LSSO through the MoU signing and implementation from the 2016-20 period to the 2022-25 period, based on the longstanding friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the Party, State, and people of Vietnam and Laos.

The MoUs encompass delegation exchanges at all levels as well as cooperation, and mutual support in a variety of professional and technical activities, he said.

 An overview of the working session between the two agencies

Through the exchanges, the agencies committed to further strengthening the comprehensive cooperation in order to enhance the quality and efficiency of their services to each nation's enterprises and citizens, as well as their capacity to implement social security programmes.

VSS deputy director general Dao Viet Anh updated the guests with Vietnam’s social security achievements including its efforts to transition to digital technology.

Following the Government's project 06, which focused on creating and implementing a demographic database as well as electronic identity and authentication, the VSS has been actively involved in digital transformation.

It has issued documents on the digital transformation acceleration in the industry in a timely manner.

The digital transformation has greatly benefited not only people and businesses but also State management agencies in the fields of social insurance and health insurance by enhancing operational quality and efficiency, creating digital infrastructure and data, and guaranteeing information security and safety.

Currently, 100 per cent of VSS's eligible administrative procedures are provided as end-to-end online public services. These public services are provided on multiple platforms.

Anh said the exchange between the VSS and LSSO this time will focus on sharing experiences in administrative reform, public services, customer care and support services.

 VSS deputy director general Dao Viet Anh chairs the working session

LSSO deputy director general Thongphanh Xayarlard said his delegation desires to continue to learn and gain Vietnam’s experiences in performing social security tasks.

He said like many other nations, Laos' social security efforts and economy had been impacted by the global economy in recent years.

The Lao Party and State recognise and appreciate Vietnam's valuable experiences in addressing social security issues, he said, hoping that his delegation's visit to the VSS office would give the LSSO's employees a chance to gain knowledge of important experiences, best practices, and solutions in planning and executing social security.

He expressed his hope that the LSSO will be able to put those lessons learned into practice to enhance social security operations in Laos on a daily basis.

He said Laos is making amendments to the Social Security Law and Vietnam's experiences serve as the basis for helping the LSSO carry out social security duties efficiently.

 Representatives of LSSO attending the meeting

He said “Compared to Vietnam, the implementation of social security activities in Laos is still in its early stages. Therefore, the LSSO copes with so many problems that we want to learn from Vietnam’s experiences.”

"I also hope that this visit will help to strengthen the strong relationship between Vietnam and Laos and continue to create new steps towards the cooperation between the VSS and LSSO," he said.

At the working session, two sides discussed their experiences in customer service and consulting support service systems, IT applications and digital transformation, and administrative procedure reform.

Deputy Director General Dao Viet Anh, alongside leaders from various VSS departments, answered the delegation's inquiries on administrative reform, IT application, digital transformation, customer care system of the VSS.

The Lao delegation then visited the VSS IT system operation centre and the customer care, supporting and consulting service unit./.