Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh (L) and National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotou (Photo: VNA) Vientiane (VNA) –Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh held talks with his Lao counterpartBounthong Chitmany and met with National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotou onDecember 10 as part of his official visit to Laos.
At the talks, the two Deputy PMsshared the joy over the development of bilateral ties in all fields, andaffirmed their resolve to continue give the highest priority to strengtheningthe great relationship between the two countries.
They agreed on the need tocontinue well implementing reached agreements and the outcomes of the 41st meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committee, and theimportance of the sharing of information and experience, especially experiencesin Party building, preparations for Party congresses, economic development and settlementof macro-economic difficulties.
The two sides reached consensuson coordination for the organisation of events to mark both countries’ majoranniversaries in 2020, including the 130th birthday of President HoChi Minh, the 100th birthday of President Kaysone Phomvihane, the 75th National Day of Vietnam and the 45th National Day of Laos.
Deputy PM Bounthong Chitmanypledged to continue instructing Lao forces to cooperate closely with their Vietnamesecounterparts to stop all attempts of sabotage by hostile forces, particularlyin border areas, and to fight transnational crime, especially drug crime.
Deputy PM Binh said Vietnam is readyto share with Laos experiences in law building and help Laos enhance thecapacity of its justice officials.
The two sides appreciated thegood progress in bilateral economic ties, noting a 12.6 percent increase in two-waytrade to 936 million USD in the first 10 months of this year.
They agreed to push ahead withthe implementation of the two countries’ agreements on trade and border tradewhile working out plans to revise those two deals in response to requirementsin the new situation.
The two Deputy PMs paid specialattention to border trade, saying that this is an important factor to improvesocio-economic conditions and maintain security and stability in borderlocalities.
Deputy PM Binh thanked Laos forcontinuing to facilitate investment activities by Vietnamese enterprises inLaos, helping Vietnam maintain its third position among foreign investors inLaos with more than 400 projects valued at 4.22 billion USD.
He asked the Lao side to continueworking with Vietnam to remove difficulties for Vietnamese investment projects,and holding meetings between the Lao Government and the Vietnamese investors inLaos.
The two Deputy PMs also discussedmeasures to enhance cooperation in labour, auditing, religious and ethnicmatters, inspection and corruption prevention.
The Lao Deputy PM took theoccasion to affirm that Laos will support Vietnam when the country serves as anon-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2020-2021 and Chair of theASEAN in 2020.
He said Laos supports the ASEAN’scommon stance on the common security issues of the region, including the EastSea issue and the Mekong river’s water resource.
The same day, Deputy PM Binh paida courtesy call to National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotou, during which theLao top legislator pledged that the Lao NA will create favourable conditionsfor the two Governments to promote cooperation across the fields.
The Lao NA will also intensifythe supervision of key joint projects of Vietnam and Laos, including theproject on building a new building for the Lao NA, she said.
The Vietnamese Deputy PM affirmedthat he will continue to work on issues of common concern, such as promotingVietnamese investment in Laos and settling matters related to free migration,unregistered marriages and nationality in accordance with the agreement signedbetween the two governments.
Later, Deputy PM Binh visited theconstruction site of the new Lao NA building and held a meeting with theproject’s management board on the progress of the project, with the aim ofcompleting the building by the end of 2020 as schedule./.
