Vietnam shares population management, digital ID technology with Laos

Vietnamese media have described the move as a technology “handover” and a major step in bilateral digital cooperation. Vietnam has official plans to connect its national digital identity system VNeID with Laos’ LAeID, as well as Singapore’s SingPass, beginning with airport pilots. LaeID is a digital identity app connected to a centralized population database as the Laos government wants to do away with paper-based identity systems.

The platform launched last month, overseen by the country’s Census Management and Grassroots Development Department, and serves as a centralized digital wallet for citizens’ identity credentials. The handover was part of a broader package of cooperation agreements signed during a two-day bilateral visit. It was Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung’s first official bilateral foreign visit since he assumed the office in April, arriving in Laos at the invitation of his Lao counterpart Saleumxay Kommasith.

The Laos Ministry of Public Security has issued more than 400,000 electronic citizen identification cards to Lao nationals aged 15 and above. “The handover marks an important milestone in cooperation between the two countries in population management, digital identification and public administration,” according to Vietnam Net. The broader package also covered finance, road and petroleum infrastructure, while the two countries signed a cybersecurity cooperation agreement between the relevant ministries.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the cybersecurity departments under Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security and Laos’ Ministry of Technology and Communications. LaeID puts an end to the use of the traditional household registration book, according to Lao authorities. The old paper-based national ID card will also no longer be accepted for public transactions.

Citizens can use the wallet to pre-register for a national ID card. Laos’ digital transformation efforts have broad-based support from countries including Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. Vietnam plans to pilot cross‑border electronic identification to streamline immigration procedures and strengthen regional digital connectivity.

The initiative has been issued under Decision No. 1830/QD‑TTg and signed by Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung. The pilots will begin at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, testing whether electronic identity data from VNeID and partner systems can reduce repeated declarations, shorten verification times and cut costs for travelers.

Security, data protection and compliance requirements will be central to the trials. Technical preparations, including testing environments, infrastructure and monitoring tools, are scheduled for completion by November 15.