General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith meets with military officials and soldiers of the 4th Military Region in Vinh City, central province of Nghệ An yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

NGHỆ AN — In a rapidly-changing, complex and unpredictable world, Việt Nam and Laos need to maintain and further develop their long-standing and loyal relations more than ever, said General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith on December 21.
He made the remarks at a meeting with military officials and soldiers of the 4th Military Region in Vinh City, central province of Nghệ An, on the last leg of his three-day official visit to Việt Nam.
He expressed his sincere thanks to the Party, State, armed forces and people of Việt Nam for their support and sacrifice towards the Lao struggle for independence in the past and the national building and protection today.
Many Vietnamese soldiers from the 4th Military Region sacrificed their youth and lives to bravely stand alongside the people and army of Laos in the revolutionary war while many others were sent to help Laos in its socio-economic development cause and key infrastructure projects after the war, he noted.
The general secretary urged the two nations to continue maintaining and developing bilateral relations so younger generations and military officials and soldiers from both sides will have a proper understanding of the Việt Nam-Laos special partnership and together nurture ties towards sustainability.
Cooperation between the two countries’ armed forces should focus on quality and effectiveness, he said, suggesting that they need to work together to find more practical forms of cooperation that bring benefits to both sides and do not let any act of sabotage get in the way.
Commander of the 4th Military Region Lieutenant General Nguyễn Tân Cương, for his part, said the military region and its units have closely coordinated with Lao authorities and localities to educate people of the two sides on policies of the two Parties and States, strengthen the grass-roots political systems and promptly prevent acts of sabotage to ensure security along the shared border.
Cương gave the Lao leader an overview of the two sides’ cooperation activities in training, healthcare and the search for Vietnamese martyrs in Laos. He also expected to receive more support from Laos to repatriate the remains of fallen Vietnamese soldiers and experts. — VNS