HÀ NỘI – Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc held talks with his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith in Hà Nội yesterday, thanking the latter for his sympathy for the flood-hit central region of Việt Nam.
The talks were held on the occasion of the Lao PM’s participation in the seventh Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy Summit (ACMECS 7), the eighth Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam Cooperation Summit (CLMV 8), and the World Economic Forum on the Mekong Region (WEF-Mekong) in Hà Nội.
PM Phúc said the Lao PM’s presence will contribute to the success of the events.
He congratulated Laos on hosting the 28th – 29th ASEAN Summits as ASEAN Chair, expressing his belief that the Lao Government will fulfill the resolution of the 10th Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party.
He also welcomed PM Sisoulith’s recent dialogue with Vietnamese businesses and his pledge to support Vietnamese investors in Laos.
The two government leaders agreed to task their ministries of industry and trade with boosting bilateral trade and better implementing the Vietnam-Laos border trade agreement.
They also pledged to urge Vietnamese enterprises to carry out projects, particularly on hydropower and mining, in Laos.
PM Sisoulith extended condolences to the Party, State and people of Việt Nam for the heavy damage inflicted by floods in the central region.
He praised Việt Nam’s hosting of the WEF-Mekong and thanked Việt Nam for its support of Laos in fulfilling its role as ASEAN Chair in 2016 and in organising the ASEAN Summits last September.
The Lao PM noted that Vietnamese investment in Laos is on the rise and has contributed to local socio-economic development, with Việt Nam third among foreign investors in his country.
The Vietnamese and Lao leaders agreed that the two Governments will set up a committee for organising activities marking the 55th founding anniversary of the countries’ diplomatic ties and 40 years since the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Cooperation Treaty.
They also agreed to set up a specific mechanism for their meetings and attending sessions of the Inter-governmental Committee on co-operation to tackle problems in bilateral relations.

President’s reception

During a reception yesterday for the Lao Prime Minister, President Trần Đại Quang said the participation of the PM and the high-level delegation of Laos to the WWF-Mekong, the CLMV 8 Summit and the ACMECS 7 illustrated Laos’ special attachment to co-operation in the Mekong sub-region.
Expanding relations with foreign countries, especially neighbours, has helped Laos increase its position in the region and the world, he said, adding that he believes Lao people will fulfil the targets of the resolution adopted at the 10th Party Congress and the eighth five-year socio-economic development plan in 2016-2020.
President Quang suggested the two countries’ governments support the implementation of joint investment projects, including the construction of the Hà Nội – Vientiane highway and oil and gas pipeline project from Hòn La port (in Viet Nam’s central Quảng Bình Province) to Lao Khammouan Province.
He recommended enhancing bilateral collaboration in defence, security, culture, education, human resources training, health, and people-to-people exchanges.
PM Sisoulith said he was honoured to lead senior officials from Laos to attend the regional summits.
He expressed his pleasure to be informed that President Trần Đại Quang will visit Laos to partake in activities to mark the 55th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Việt Nam – Laos Amity and Cooperation Treaty in 2017. — VNS