A meeting was held on December 2 in central Nghe An province to mark the 50 th anniversary of cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Lao Ministry of Labour and Social Welfares.

Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highlighted the development in cooperation between the two ministries in the last 50 years, since Vietnam and Laos established diplomatic ties in 1962.

Laos receives thousands of Vietnamese labourers to work in projects each year. Meanwhile Vietnam provided professional training to officials and staff from the Lao Ministry of Labour and Social Welfares.

In addition to cooperation at a central level, localities - especially border provinces – have also enhanced cooperation in the field.

Phuc took the opportunity to thank the Lao Government, people and relevant agencies for their cooperation and help locate the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers killed in Laos .

Owing to close cooperation between the two ministries, the remains of 16,000 Vietnamese volunteer soldiers recovered in Laos have been returned home.

Both Vietnamese and Lao ministers, Pham Thi Hai Chuyen and Onechanh Thammavong, vowed to continue strengthening and developing bilateral cooperation in social welfare, labour and training.-VNA