Officials of the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai held a working session with a delegation from Hong He county in China’s southern Yunnan province on May 25 to discuss preparations for a bilateral cross-border economic cooperation zone.

Vice Chairman of the Lao Cai People’s Committee Le Ngoc Hung said local authorities are pushing ahead with surveys, planning work, mechanism building and human resources training for the zone, so that it can be put into operation immediately after receiving Government approval.

In fact, the two countries’ Governments as well as relevant ministries and sectors have agreed on principles to the building of the zone, and necessary preparations are underway, he said.

Vice head of the Hong He county Nie Ming highlighted the bridging role of the county and Lao Cai province on the Kunming– Hanoi – Hai Phong – Quang Ninh economic corridor and the Vietnam-China cross-border economic belt.

He said the cross-border economic cooperation zone, once operational, will facilitate the transport and transit of export goods from Yunnan and other southwest localities of China via Lao Cai to Hai Phong port city, and help to promote economic development in Yunnan ’s southern region and Vietnam ’s northwestern provinces.

Lao Cai and Yunnan share more than 200 kilometres of border line. The Lao Cai – Hekou international border gate plays an important role in facilitating trade across the economic corridor.-VNA