Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will an an official visit to Laos from April 26-27 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The first official visit toLaos by Nguyen Xuan Phuc in his capacity as Vietnamese Prime Minister fromApril 26-27 is set to solidify the countries’ cooperation, which has beengrowing over the last 55 years.
Vietnam and Laos established their diplomaticrelationship on September 5, 1962.
Since then, they have maintained bilateralcooperation mechanisms such as the annual meeting of the IntergovernmentalCommittee on bilateral cooperation, with the most recent – the 39th meeting –held on February 8, 2017. They have also held mutual visits at all levels, with370 delegations exchanged in 2016.
The two sides have also intensified diplomaticties by initiating the annual dialogue between their foreign ministers inDecember 2014 and the political consultation between deputy foreign ministersin July 2015.
As of the end of February 2017, Vietnam had 408projects with total capital of about 3.7 billion USD in Laos. Many of them haveproved profitable, contributing to both nations’ development and creating jobsin Laos.
The countries signed a new trade agreement inMarch 2015 and a cross-border trade agreement in June the same year. Bilateraltrade reached 823 million USD in 2016.
Security-defence cooperation has been reinforcedin all aspects, especially personnel training.
Meanwhile, a project on upgrading the bordermarker system along the shared borderline was completed. The two countries alsoinked a protocol on the Vietnam-Laos border and border markers and have implementedthe two Governments’ agreement on tackling unplanned migration and unregisteredmarriage in border areas.
They have also done a good job of searching forand repatriating the remains of Vietnam’s soldiers. In the 2015-2016 dryseason, 233 Vietnamese martyrs in Laos were repatriated.
The two neighbours have accelerated transportconnectivity projects within the framework of bilateral cooperation and theGreater Mekong Subregion.
A memorandum of understanding on transportcooperation strategy for 2016-2025 was signed between the two Governments inSeptember 2015. They are also considering the application of a “one-stop shop”model at more border gates.
In the 2015-2016 academic year, Vietnam gave1,000 scholarships to Laos, which in turn granted 60 scholarships to Vietnam.
The countries have enjoyed mutual support atregional and international forums, coordinated with other member nations tobuild the ASEAN Community, and helped maintain ASEAN’s unity in the region’sstrategic issues.-VNA
VNA
