Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith meet the press after their talks (Photo: VNA)The two government leaders reached the consensusduring their talks in Vientiane on April 26 on the occasion of Phuc’s firstofficial visit to Laos in his position as Vietnamese Prime Minister from April26-27.
They concurred to implement more effectivelyhigh-level agreements, especially the Joint Statement issued on the officialvisit to Laos by Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in November2016 and the Joint Statement released on the visit to Vietnam by Laos’ PartyGeneral Secretary and President Bounnhang Volachith in April 2016.
The two sides vowed to build on the outcomesgained at the 39th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee onbilateral cooperation and do their best to carry out the Vietnam-Laos bilateralcooperation agreement in 2016-2020.
The Vietnamese and Lao governments will map outlong-term collaboration orientations for the sustainable development of the twocountries’ relations, driving economic-trade growth while ensuring socialwelfares and environmental protection.
The two PMs also agreed to enhance high-leveldelegation exchanges and effectively deploy bilateral cooperation mechanisms alongwith increasing political trusts and cooperation efficiency in the fields ofpolitics, external affairs, security-defence, economics, trade and investment.
The two sides aim to increase two-way tradevalue in 2017 by 10 percent against 2016 and step up connectivity between thetwo economies, particularly in energy and transport.
Both leaders pledged to carry out efficientlysigned agreements, particularly the protocol on cooperation in defence andsecurity in 2016-2020, the protocol on border line and national border markers,the agreement on border and border gate management regulations, the Memorandumof Understanding on bilateral transport cooperation strategy in 2016-2025 witha vision towards 2030, and the agreement on building Vientiane-Pacxan-ThanhThuy-Hanoi highway.
They agreed to enhance cultural andpeople-to-people exchanges and jointly organise activities to celebrate the55th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 40th anniversary of signing theVietnam-Laos Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation.
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc took the occasion to presenthis Lao counterpart and the Lao people with the Vietnamese-Lao andLao-Vietnamese dictionaries with the hope of helping the two countries’ people,especially the youngsters, to learn each other’s languages, thus increasingmutual understanding and strengthening special solidarity.
The two PMs agreed to bolster affiliation ineducation and training, which has been a bright spot in bilateral cooperation.
They also 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 support each other’s initiatives and activities withinthe framework of ASEAN.
Host and guest vowed to step up cooperation witheach other and with other countries and international organisations for thesustainable and effective use and management of water resources in the MekongRiver on the basis of ensuring the harmony in benefits of countries in the Mekongbasin, especially those downstream. They noted the need to have mechanisms forbilateral coordination and coordination with other stakeholders to assess and monitorthe impacts of the use of river water resources.
The two sides also stressed the importance ofmaintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation andaviation in the East Sea; settling disputes via peaceful means andinternational law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea (UNCLOS); implementing fully and effectively the Declaration on theConduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and soon reaching a Code of Conductin the East Sea (COC), looking towards finalising a framework of the COC in mid-2017, thuscontributing to preserving peace, security, stability, cooperation anddevelopment in the region and in the world.
After the talks, the two PMs witnessed thesigning of cooperation documents between Vietnam and Laos.
The two countries have issued a Joint Statementon the occasion of PM Phuc’s official visit to Laos. -VNA
VNA
