Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and his Lao counterpart Thoonglun Sisulith have hailed the success of border demarcation and border marker planting as a result of joint efforts of Vietnam and Laos.

The two officials held a meeting in Vietnam’s central province of Quang Tri on June 24 on the occasion of the inauguration of the La Lay international border gate on the border line between Quang Tri and Laos’ Salavan province.

They agreed that the upgrading of border gates between the two countries benefits both sides.

Discussing regional and international issues of common concern, the two deputy prime ministers expressed concern about the increasingly complicated developments in the East Sea. They applauded the Foreign Ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) for issuing a statement on the East Sea situation in May this year.

Deputy PM Minh and his Lao counterpart called for stronger unity among ASEAN, saying that the bloc needs to have a common voice regarding security and development of the region as a whole on the basis of respect for international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) while working towards an early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).-VNA