The third Vietnam-Laos People Friendship Festival will be held in Hanoi and the northern provinces of Ninh Binh and Tuyen Quang from July 15-21.

The event is organised by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Association (VLFA) and the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association.

VLFA President Nguyen Huy Quang said the festival is one of the major activities to mark the Vietnam-Laos Solidarity and Friendship Year 2012.

Each country will send a delegation of 50 members to attend the event.

Apart from Vietnamese experts and volunteers who supported the Laos ’ revolution, the festival will see the participation of 14 Laos citizens who protected the Vietnamese experts and volunteers during the war.

Within the framework of the festival, the delegates will pay tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum and be received by Vietnamese Party and State leaders.

With the first festival held in Vietnam in 2005 and the second in Laos in 2007, this year’s event is seen as a chance for the delegates to exchange experience in implementing friendly activities in their localities and units, Quang said.

On this occasion, the delegates will attend meetings to celebrate the 50 th anniversary of the Vietnam-Laos diplomatic ties (Sept. 5) and the 35 th year of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Cooperation Treaty (July 18).

Such activities are expected to help people understand more about the friendship and historical values shared by the two countries, he added.

Along with cooperation between the two Parties and States, the friendship between the two nations has and is being constantly improved, Quang affirmed.-VNA