The Lao Government will do its utmost to effectively implement agreements signed with the Vietnamese Government, consolidating and strengthening the two countries’ traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation.

Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavad Lengsavad made the statement at his meeting with Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi on December 20.

Lengsavad, who is also Chairman of the Laos-Vietnam Cooperation Sub-committee, is in Hanoi to attend the 35 th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committee for Economics, Culture, and Science and Technology Cooperation.

Trong expressed his pleasure at the practical and effective cooperative activities between the two countries during the Vietnam-Laos, Laos-Vietnam 2012 Friendship Year, which have contributed to deepening the two countries’ relations.

He highly valued the outcomes of the 35 th meeting and the efforts of the two Governments to implement agreements.

Trong said he hopes that the two cooperation sub-committees will continue to direct the ministries, agencies and localities to accelerate joint investment projects in Laos, and improve the supervision and implementation of agreements signed at their 35 th meeting.

The sub-committees should also continue to review and complete investment and trade policies to increase two-way trade, strengthen information exchange and improve collaboration at multilateral forums, especially within the ASEAN framework and sub-region cooperation mechanisms, Trong said.-VNA