President Tran Dai Quang (right) receives visiting Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – President Tran Dai Quang on May 15 received Lao Prime Minister (PM) Thongloun Sisoulith, who is on a visit to Vietnam at the invitation of PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
President Quang warmly welcomed the Lao PM and his entourage, saying that the PM’s selecting Vietnam for the first official visit after taking the position demonstrates the deep and faithful bond of Laos and Vietnam.
The President affirmed Vietnam gives whole-hearted support for the reform and national construction and defence of Laos.
On his part, Thongloun Sisoulith expressed his pleasure at visiting Vietnam and conveyed to President Quang an invitation to visit Laos from Lao Party General Secretary and President Bounnhang Volachith. President Quang accepted the invitation.
The Lao PM briefed President Quang on the result of his meeting with PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc, saying that the two sides exchanged measures to realise high-ranking agreements between Vietnam and Laos. The two PMs also agreed to do their best to implement the content of the Vietnam-Laos Joint Statement issued during the Vietnam visit of Lao Party General Secretary and President Bounnhang Volachith.
The two sides voiced their joy at the strong and effective development of the Vietnam-Laos special relationship across political, economic, trade, security, defence, cultural and social fields.
President Tran Dai Quang recommended the two governments continue enhancing the quality of comprehensive cooperation in all fields and strive for a 20-percent increase of two-way trade value; effectively implementing agreements from annual summits and creating conditions for Lao and Vietnamese enterprises to expand their operations and investments.
The two sides shared the view that the traditional friendship and fraternity of the two countries is an invaluable asset, associating with both countries’ survival, so the Parties, States and people of the two countries must always treasure the relationship.
As Vietnam and Laos will celebrate the 55th year of diplomatic ties and the 40th anniversary of signing the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty in 2017, the two sides agreed that the two countries need to intensify public communications campaigns on the tradition of the Vietnam-Lao relationship as well as coordinate to organise celebrations of the anniversaries.
President Quang also took the occasion to thank the Lao Party, State and people for helping Vietnam overcome adverse impacts of drought and saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta.-VNA
