HÀ NỘI — A three-day festival to celebrate the special friendship between Việt Nam and Laos will be officially launched on November 15 in the central province of Nghệ An.

The announcement was made at a press conference on Wednesday held by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC).

The event will mark the 57th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 42nd anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Co-operation between the two countries.

The event will draw representatives from the Lao Embassy in Việt Nam and leaders of Lao provinces, as well as leaders of provinces and cities across Việt Nam and more than 500 young people and residents of Nghệ An Province.

It is the second year the festival has been organised. Last year it was held in the northern mountainous province of Điện Biên.

The festival will feature a series of activities, including artistic performances, a photo exhibition on Việt Nam – Laos special ties, and an economic, culture and tourism fair.

A conference to promote trade, investment and tourism in Nghệ An will be held, seeking measures to strengthen border exchange activities.

Speaking at the press conference, Đoàn Công Huynh, director of the Authority of Foreign Information Service under the MoIC, emphasised the significance of the festival in strengthening the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive co-operation between Việt Nam and Laos.

The festival offered a chance to boost the dissemination of information about external relations in border areas. This would raise the awareness and responsibility of local authorities and people of firmly safeguarding national independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, maintaining peace and stability for national development, and raising Việt Nam’s position and reputation in the region and the world as a whole, he said.

Nguyễn Bá Hảo, deputy director of the Nghệ An Information and Communications Department, said the province had prepared well for the event.

The province hoped the festival would promote co-operation between the two countries in different fields, he said. — VNS