Vietnam, Laos applaud defence cooperation outcomes

Senior defence officers of Vietnam and Laos held talks in Vientiane on August 26, hailing cooperation outcomes between the two countries’ defence ministries in the past year.

The Vietnamese delegation was led by Deputy Defence Minister Do Ba Ty – Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, while the Lao side was headed Deputy Defence Minister Souvone Luongbounmy – Director General of the General Staff Department of the Lao People's Army.

During their talks, the officers noted military regions and units based in the countries’ shared border areas have actively organised joint meetings, exchanged information, conducted joint border patrols, and effectively coordinated in fighting cross-border crimes.

The two sides have also worked together to increase and upgrade the border marker system and enhanced people-to-people diplomacy, contributing to political stability and social order and safety in each country. Their efforts have also helped create a favourable environment for both countries’ economic development and defeat sabotage schemes.

The Vietnamese and Lao officers acknowledged the efficient implementation of the one-stop-shop model at the Lao Bao – Densavan border gates and cooperation in personnel training. They have also coordinated in searching for and repatriating remains of Vietnamese and Lao voluntary soldiers in the other country.

As Laos will chair the ASEAN in 2016, the Vietnamese Defence Ministry has set up a working group tasked with sharing experience and assisting Laos in organising the bloc’s defence-security conferences.

At the talks, both sides touched upon regional and international issues of shared concern, saying that while peace, cooperation and development is the main stream in the global and regional arenas, recent complicated developments along with a number of imminent factors could cause instability.

The same day, at a courtesy call to Lao Defence Minister Sengnoune Sayalath, Deputy Minister Ty stressed that all-round defence cooperation has resulted in considerable attainments, greatly contributing to the intensification of bilateral relations.

The Lao minister valued recent cooperation outcomes between the two defence ministries and thanked the Vietnamese side’s assistance, which he said has helped foster the special friendship, solidarity and comprehensive collaboration between the two nations.-VNA