Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra inspect a guard of honour during the welcome ceremony at the Prime Minister’s Office. VIENTIANE TIMES/ANN Photo

VIENTIANE — The governments of Laos and Thailand signed six cooperation agreements in Vientiane yesterday during an official visit to Laos by Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Prime Minister Paetongtarm and her delegation came to Laos in response to an invitation from Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone to continue to strengthen the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, with the aim of bolstering growth and sustainable development.

The first Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the two governments concerned the management of integrated water resources, while the second agreed to officially declare a bond of friendship between Vientiane and Thailand’s Khon Kaen province.

The third agreement covered cooperation in the field of civil servant management, the fourth related to technical assistance, the fifth concerned cooperation in rail freight transport, and the sixth was a Letter of Intent to reinforce the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge linking Vientiane and Thailand’s Nong Khai province.

The signing of the six agreements was witnessed by the two prime ministers.

In addition, Prime Minister Paetongtarn handed over the results of a study on the design the planned Xiengmaen-Luang Prabang Mekong Bridge to Prime Minister Sonexay.

The two prime ministers and their delegations evaluated various aspects of the current state of cooperation between Laos and Thailand and determined the direction of future cooperation plans.

Areas of future cooperation concern political-security ties, efforts to tackle the drug trade and transboundary air pollution, the survey and demarcation of the countries’ shared border, and cooperation in relation to economic affairs, trade, investment, infrastructure integration, development, and labour.

The two governments agreed to continue to support each other in regional and international forums, and to share comments on mutual areas of interest concerning regional and international events.

Prime Minister Sonexay congratulated Prime Minister Paetongtarn on her recent election as Thailand’s 31st Prime Minister.

The Lao premier said he highly valued the visit by his Thai counterpart, observing that Laos was the first foreign country to be honoured with an official visit by the newly elected Thai prime minister.

This reflected the close relationship between Laos and Thailand, he said, and also marked the 75th anniversary in 2025 of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Laos and Thailand.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn thanked the Lao PM for his warm welcome and promised to continue to work closely with Laos, especially with Prime Minister Sonexay, to foster closer relations between the two governments, saying she would build on the outcomes of this meeting to implement and develop them more formally.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn and her delegation also visited President Thongloun Sisoulith and the President of Laos’ National Assembly, Dr Xaysomphone Phomvihane. — VIENTIANE TIMES/ANN