Lao Prime Minister’s Vietnam visit to step up all-around links

Hanoi (VNA) – Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith’s official visit to Vietnam from May 15-17 looks to bolster the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two nations.

In recent years, Vietnam-Laos relations have grown strongly across fields.

The two countries’ political bond and mutual trust have been intensified through the exchange of high-ranking Party and State visits and meetings and the sharing of experience between ministries, sectors and localities as well.

Stronger links have been recorded in defence and security, and also at regional and global forums.

Additionally, the two sides also effectively cooperated in searching for and collecting remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts died in Laos, while intensifying efforts to communicate the tradition of their bilateral ties.

The implementation of economic cooperation agreements signed between the two governments has been accelerated.

Vietnam is running 15 investment projects in hydroelectricity worth 1.4 billion USD, along with 57 mining projects and 18 others in industrial and rubber tree planting in Laos.

The two countries have paid special attention to fostering links in education and human resources training. Currently, over 9,000 Lao students are pursuing studies in Vietnam

Cooperation in other fields like transport, science and technology development, agriculture, information and communications, culture and tourism have been also promoted.

Vietnamese localities continue to expand connection with their Lao counterparts, and support them in building infrastructure facilities, developing health care network and training human resources.

This is the first overseas trip by Thongloun Sisoulith as Prime Minister of Laos after he was elected to the post at the first meeting of the 8 th National Assembly in April, 2016.-VNA