Hanoi (VNA) – Lao Prime Minister ThonglounSisoulith will attend and co-chair the 41st meeting of the Vietnam-LaosInter-Governmental Committee on January 5-6 in Hanoi at the invitation ofVietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Thongloun Sisoulith’s attendance continues to reaffirm the two countries’priorities in foreign affairs that are constantly developing the bilateraltraditional friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation,reinforcing political trust, and creating a single channel to direct theimplementation of high-level agreements in the future.

Over the past few years, Vietnam and Laos havecoordinated to organise a number of activities to strengthen the bilateralrelations such as celebrating the Vietnam-Laos friendship and solidarity year2017, the 55th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties (1962-2017), and the40th anniversary of signing the Vietnam-Laos treaty on cooperation and amity(1977-2017).

The two sides also have worked together toimplement effectively cooperation agreements on security and defence as well asstrengthened locality-to-locality collaboration, especially in the sharedborder areas, in building infrastructure, providing health care, developinghuman resources, and ensuring order and security in border areas.

In 2017, Vietnam and Laos completed a project onincreasing and upgrading border markers along their boundary in addition tosigning a protocol on the Vietnam-Laos borderline and national border markers,and an agreement on management regulations of Vietnam-Laos border and bordergates.

The two nations continued to promote theimplementation of an agreement between the two governments on dealing withundocumented migration and marriages along the shared border.

They also worked together to seek and gatherthousands sets of remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who laiddown their lives during wartime in Laos.

The 40th meeting of the inter-governmentalcommittee in early 2018 under the chair of the two PMs significantlycontributed to nurturing the traditional friendship and special solidaritybetween the two nations as well as their comprehensive cooperation.

As of October 2018, Vietnam remained one of thethree biggest investors of Laos with the registration of 409 projects worth 4.1billion USD.

In 2017, Vietnam and Laos signed a new tradeagreement and a border trade deal. 

Two-way trade reached 936.8 million USD in 2017and 830.5 million USD in January-October 2018, up 15.2 percent against the sameperiod last year. 

Besides, the two sides also pushed aheadcooperation in other fields such as transport, education-training,culture-tourism, and health care.

Apart from supporting each other at regional andinternational forums such as the United Nations (UN), the Non-Aligned Movement,and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), Vietnam and Laos also strengthenedcoordination with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) to build the ASEAN Community and maintain the bloc’s solidarity andconsensus in regional strategic issues.-VNA