Vietnam, Laos hold ninth foreign ministerial-level consultation meeting

Vientiane (VNA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and his Lao counterpart Saleumxay Kommasith co-chaired the ninth foreign ministerial-level consultation meeting on April 28.

Son is on a three-day official visit to Laos, starting from April 27.

During the event, the two FMs showed their delight at what the two countries have together achieved to boost bilateral relations in all fields. The two sides have further heightened political trust, maintain high-level meetings on a regular basis and strengthened defence and security ties.

The bilateral economic ties have also seen progress with two-way trade exceeding 400 million USD in the first quarter of 2022, up nearly 20 percent from the same period last year. Vietnam has poured more than 64 million USD worth of investment into Laos during the period.

The two officials also agreed to continue effectively enforcing the high-level agreements between the two countries and commitments made at the 44th meeting of the Vietnam - Laos Intergovernmental Committee, one of which is to coordinate in hosting celebrations of the Year of Solidarity and Friendship.

They will further accelerate cooperation and consultation between the two foreign ministries’ units and maintain the effectiveness of routine cooperation mechanisms between the ministries. Additionally, they will work together to implement the action plan on expanding their bilateral partnership in economic diplomacy from 2020 - 2025 and to review international treaties they are signatories to.

They later exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest and agreed to provide continuous support for each other at multilateral forums. The two sides also agreed to, together with other ASEAN member states, sustain a common stance on the East Sea.

Both sides held that all disputes on the East Sea must be settled by peaceful measures based on international laws and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982); and concerned parties must fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon finalise the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC)./.