Prime Ministers Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and Thongloun Sisoulith witness the signing of cooperation documents (Photo: VNA) Vientiane (VNA) - Vietnam andLaos have issued a joint statement during Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’sofficial visit to Laos from April 26-27, emphasising the two sides agreed toincrease bilateral cooperation between ministries, sectors and localities.
They concurred to disseminate and effectively implement the Protocol on borderline and border markers between Vietnam and Laos and the agreement onregulations on border and border gate management.
They affirmed the importance of and reached a consensus on strengtheningbilateral economic cooperation, while effectively implementing signedagreements. The two sides aim to increase two-way trade value in 2017 by 10percent against 2016 and step up connectivity between the two economies,particularly in transport and energy.
The two sides also agreed to bolster affiliation in education and training,which has been a bright spot in bilateral cooperation.
They affirmed to strengthen coordination atregional and international forums such as the United Nations (UN), theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and sub-regional cooperationmechanisms, as well as contributions to building the strong ASEAN Community, increasingsolidarity and unity and promoting the central role of ASEAN in the regionalarchitecture.
They agreed to work with international organisations to ensure sustainable andeffective use and management of the Mekong River on the basis of ensuring theharmony in benefits of countries in the Mekong basin, especially thosedownstream. They noted the need to have mechanisms for bilateral coordinationand coordination with other stakeholders to assess and monitor the impacts ofthe use of river water resources.
Both countries stressed the importance to maintaining peace, stability,security and safety in the East Sea and settling disputes in the East Sea bypeaceful means in line with international law, including the 1982 UnitedNations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); implementing fully andeffectively the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC),and soon reaching a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), looking towardsfinalising a framework of the COC in mid-2017, thus contributing to preservingpeace, security, stability, cooperation and development in the region and inthe world.-VNA
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