Vietnam and Laos cooperate on developing digital trust infrastructure and cross-recognition of digital signatures

On the afternoon of 25 June 2026, in Vientiane, Laos, the National Electronic Authentication Center of Vietnam (NEAC) - Viet Nam Ministry of Science and Technology, in collaboration with the Lao National Internet Center (LANIC) - Ministry of Technology and Communications of Laos, organized a Vietnam-Laos workshop on developing digital trust infrastructure and applying digital signatures in various fields.

Attending the workshop, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui Hoang Phuong and Lao Deputy Minister of Technology and Communications Keovisouk Solaphom held a bilateral meeting.

Vietnamese Vice Minister of Science and Technology Bui Hoang Phuong and Lao Vice Minister of Technology and Communications Keovisouk Solaphom attended and delivered opening remarks at the workshop.

The workshop was attended by representatives and experts from specialized management agencies, organizations, and technology businesses of both countries.

Connecting the digital space on the foundation of a special friendship

In his opening remarks at the workshop, Vietnamese Vice Minister of Science and Technology Bui Hoang Phuong affirmed that the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos is an invaluable asset. In the context of strong digital transformation, cooperation in science, technology, and digital trust between the two countries is becoming increasingly practical and in-depth.

Vice Minister Bui Hoang Phuong highly appreciated the persistent coordination between NEAC and LANIC in maintaining the annual series of workshops and training sessions between the two sides. These activities have built trust, fostered professional capacity, and created a solid foundation for more strategic forms of cooperation in the future.

Commending the efforts of the two centers in proactively researching and developing a common Trust List, planned for pilot implementation in the customs sector, the Deputy Minister emphasized: "This will be a landmark mechanism for the direct cross-recognition of digital signatures from both countries, a key to creating "smart border crossings", streamlining customs procedures, and creating a superior competitive advantage for businesses in both countries”.

Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong expressed confidence that, from today's concrete and practical cooperation, the two sides will continue to expand to more strategic and larger-scale forms of cooperation: from connecting individual digital transactions to interoperability across entire systems; from trust between organizations to sustainable trust between the two countries in the digital space.

Vietnam is always ready to accompany, share experiences, and support Laos in building appropriate institutions and developing infrastructure to jointly create a safe and reliable digital ecosystem, contributing to the goal of building a prosperous ASEAN Digital Community.

Meanwhile, Lao Deputy Minister of Technology and Communications Keovisouk Solaphom highly appreciated Vietnam's digital transformation achievements over the past 10 years in the fields of electronic invoices, taxation, finance, healthcare, education, etc., and considered this invaluable practical experience for Laos.

In the context of Laos implementing its Digital Economy Vision 2040 and the Digital Transformation Plan 2026-2030, Deputy Minister Keovisouk Solaphom affirmed: "Digital signatures are a core tool for identity verification, data protection, and building online digital trust”.

The Deputy Minister expressed confidence that the cooperation between LANIC and NEAC will open up breakthrough solutions to promote secure electronic transactions and drive the sustainable development of Laos' digital economy.

Sharing practical experiences and technological solutions

At the workshop, delegates listened to in-depth presentations from speakers from both countries, providing a comprehensive and substantive view of solutions to promote the application of digital signatures:

Representatives from LANIC, the Lao Ministry of Finance, and the Government's Digital Transformation Center presented on the current state of digital signature development and its application in Laos' Integrated Financial Management Information System.

Meanwhile, NEAC representatives shared an overview of the trusted infrastructure (including digital signature authentication services, timestamping services, and data message authentication), along with experiences in applying digital signatures in typical sectors in Vietnam.

Viettel-CA representatives introduced advanced digital signature models (USB Token, SIM CA, MySign Cloud) and practical experience in deploying digital signature integration/connectivity infrastructure in the finance, banking, and customs sectors in Vietnam, helping to optimize operating costs and enhance user experience.

Realizing the goal of mutual recognition and building a common "Trust List"

One of the key areas of particular interest to leaders from both sides was promoting cross-recognition of digital signatures to facilitate cross-border transactions.

NEAC Director To Thi Thu Huong stated, “To realize strategic goals, NEAC proposes that both sides soon establish a Joint Working Group to study, develop, and operate a Common Trust List between Vietnam and Laos, considering this as an important technical and legal foundation to promote interoperability and mutual recognition between digital signature certification service providers and trust service providers of the two countries”.

Advanced technical training for LANIC staff

Within the framework of the annual cooperation between NEAC and LANIC Laos, NEAC collaborated with LANIC to organize a technical training program specifically for LANIC staff this morning.

During the training, NEAC experts directly guided and transferred in-depth technical expertise on: Operating Root CA and Sub CA systems; configuring hardware security devices (HSM); and the process of creating, configuring, and revoking digital certificates.

This is a practical cooperation activity that helps Lao staff improve their technical expertise, optimize the management and operation of the electronic certificate issuance system for continuous, secure, and sustainable operation./.

Copyright belongs to the Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology (VJST-MOST)