Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Lao counterpart Thongsing Thammavong will attend a ceremony on July 9 to inaugurate marker No.460 and celebrate the completion of Vietnam-Laos border planting in the field.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Luong Thanh Nghi made the announcement during the ministry’s monthly press conference in Hanoi on July 4.

He said the ceremony will be held at the Thanh Thuy (in Vietnam’s central province of Nghe An) – Nam On (in Laos’ Bolikhamsay province) border gate, where the last marker is planted.

This is an event of important significance that marks the conclusion of a project to upgrade the Vietnam-Laos marker system, contributing to building a shared border of peace, friendship, stability and cooperation for mutual development, thus paving the way for socio-economic development in boundary areas and the two countries in general, he said.

During the conference, Nghi also announced that Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh will pay an official visit to India from July 10-13 at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid.

The visit aims to affirm Vietnam’s policy of treasuring the traditional friendship and strategic partnership with India and supporting the promotion of the India-ASEAN relationship, he said.

During his stay, FM Minh will co-chair the 15th meeting of the Vietnam-India Joint Committee, Nghi added.

In addition, the Vietnamese and Indian FMs will hold talks to review bilateral cooperation since the 14th meeting of the Joint Committee, and discuss orientations and measures to further the strategic partnership between the two countries. They will also debate regional and international issues of mutual concern.

FM Minh will pay courtesy calls to senior leaders of India and deliver a speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs.

Regarding Vietnam’s development and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, Nghi said that on July 3, the Ministry of Science and Technology in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) brought the remaining 11 kilogrammes of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute to Russia.

With this shipment, Vietnam has fulfilled its commitment to realising a programme to change fuel for the Da Lat Nuclear Reactor from using HEU to low enriched uranium in the framework of the Joint Statement of the Second Nuclear Security Summit, which took place in March 2012 in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, as well as IAEA’s recommendations and signed agreements with the US and Russia, he said.

The event once again affirms Vietnam’s consistent policy of developing and using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, Nghi stressed.

Vietnam will continue to closely cooperate with the IAEA and the international community in ensuring nuclear safety and security, he added.-VNA