Friendship associations of Vietnam and Laos have been urged to continue diversifying their activities and further promote the two countries’ traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation.

Truong Tan Sang, Politburo member and permanent member of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee, made the recommendations while meeting a delegation of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association in Hanoi on July 11.

He highly valued the role and efforts of the two friendship associations in organising exchange programmes between the two countries, serving as a friendly bridge to comprehensively promote Vietnam-Laos relations.

The Lao chief delegate Phankham Viphavan, who was also a Politburo member and permanent member of the Secretariat of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, affirmed that the Lao Party, State and people and the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association always attached importance to and spared no effort in maintaining and promoting the everlasting traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

Phankham Viphavan, who was also Minister of Education and Sports and Chairman of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association, highly valued the cooperation between the two associations in the past year, and said that joint activities to mark the “Year of Vietnam-Laos Friendship, Solidarity in 2012” would boost the close relationship./.