Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoàng Xuân Chiến meets with his Lao counterpart Sen. Lt. Gen. Vongkham Phommakone on Monday in Laos. VNA/VNS Photo

SƠN LA – Working delegations from the Defence Ministries of Việt Nam and Laos on Monday held a rehearsal for the second Việt Nam-Laos Border Defence Friendship Exchange in Mộc Châu District, the northern province of Sơn La, and Sop Bao District, Laos’s Houaphanh province.

Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoàng Xuân Chiến and his Lao counterpart Sen. Lt. Gen. Vongkham Phommakone inspected several sites where the programme’s activities will be organised, including Lóng Sập Border Gate, Pahang Primary and Secondary School, Lóng Sập Broading Primary and Secondary School and Mộc Châu District Administrative Centre.

The two officials praised agencies and units that engage in preparation for the event.

The friendship exchange will take place from October 22-23 in Mộc Châu district and Sop Bau district.

It will feature various activities in Việt Nam’s northern mountainous province of Sơn La, and Houaphanh Province of Laos. They include welcome ceremonies, tree planting, a joint exercise on cross-border crime combat, gift hand-over, a cross-border marathon, free health check-ups and medicine distribution, and art performances. The two sides will also hold talks and sign cooperation documents.

As one of the key defence diplomacy events of the Việt Nam People's Army (VPA) this year, the exchange is hoped to contribute to maintaining peace, stability, and development in the region and the world. – VNS