Deputy Prime Ministerand Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh began his two-day official visit toLaos on December 4 at the invitation of his Lao counterpart ThonglunSisulith.
He paid courtesy calls to GeneralSecretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and PresidentChummaly Sayasone and Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong.
The Lao leaders pledged to further foster the traditional friendship,special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the twocountries.
Party chief Chummaly Sayasone expressedhis delight at the growing ties between the two parties and said hebelieves the two sides will continue working closely for the success ofthe congress of each party in 2016.
Meanwhile, PMThongsing Thammavong spoke highly of the two countries’ preparations forthe 37th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committee in2015.
He praised Vietnam’s top investor positionin Laos and its commitment to increasing ODA by 30 percent for hiscountry in the coming time.
A bilateral trade deal should be signed to make a two-way trade value of 2 billion USD in 2015 feasible, he proposed.
On his part, Deputy PM and FM Minh affirmed that the VietnameseForeign Ministry will continue joining hands with its partner to furtherthe special ties between the two countries.
Earlier, he held talks with his Lao counterpart Thonglun Sisulith,reaching an agreement that an annual meeting between the two foreignministries is necessary for sharing information and coordinating actionsamid the rapidly changing regional and global situations.
They highly valued the results of the plan to upgrade land bordermarkers along the shared borderline, as well as the implementation of anagreement on the settlement of issues related to immigrants andnon-registered marriages in the two countries’ border areas.
Both sides agreed to work harder for the official launch of a“one-stop-shop” model in the Lao Bao- Densavan border gate pair fromJanuary 1, 2015.
The two leaders also briefed eachother on their respective external policies while sharing views onprominent regional and international issues, including the building ofan ASEAN Community.
They pledged to work closely with other ASEAN member countries to successfully form the community by 2015.
Vietnam is willing to support Laos in acting as the ASEAN Chair in 2016, stated Deputy PM and FM Minh.
Following the talks, the leaders signed an agreement on cooperationbetween the two foreign ministries for the 2014-20 period.
Later the same day, Deputy PM and FM Minh, on behalf of the Party andState of Vietnam, presented the Independence Medal, second class, to LaoMinister of Justice Bounkeut Sangsomsak, who is also former DeputyForeign Minister.
He also awarded the Labour Medal,third class, and the Friendship Medal to some units of the Lao ForeignMinistry in recognition of their excellent contributions to promotingthe special solidarity between Vietnam and Laos.-VNA
Cambodian media give heavy coverage to Vietnamese PM’s visit
The Khmer Times reported that the two PMs witnessed the signing of six agreements spanning national security, drug prevention and control, trade, culture and education. Companies also exchanged five economic documents at the Vietnam-Cambodia Business Forum 2026. The newspaper said the visit bolsters political trust and economic integration ahead of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2027.
