According to Secretary of theprovincial Party Committee and Governor of Bolikhamsai Kongkeo Saysongkham, theprovince has a total area of nearly 17,000 square kilometers and a populationof more than 172,000 people.
Last year, it recorded a GDPgrowth of 8 percent with per capita income of 1,900 USD per annum. In 2016, theprovince has 225 licenced investment projects worth 130 billion kip (15.92million USD) in total.
It has more than 1,600hectares of rice and over 26,000 hectares of other crops. Its import-exportrevenue hit more than 160 million USD.
Currently, Bolikhamsai hasset up partnerships with Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, DaNang city and a number of other localities of Vietnam. Theyhave regularly held meetings to exchange experience in socio-economicdevelopment, poverty reduction, human resources development as well as Party buildingand security-defence.
Sixteen Vietnamese firms areinvesting in Bolikhamsai, mostly in mining, restaurant, hotel and agriculturalproduct processing.
At a meeting with Party GeneralSecretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Saysongkham thanked the Party, State and people of Vietnam for providingthe province with timely and effective support over the past years.
The Vietnamese Party leaderhailed Bolikhamsai’s sound relationship with Vietnamese localities.
He briefed the host on the outcomesof his meetings with the Lao Party and State leaders, expressing delight at thegrowth of the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensivecooperation between the two countries.
The two sides affirmed theirdetermination to further bolster the bilateral ties, he added.
The Party chief said he hopesBolikhamsai and Vietnamese localities, especially those along the shared border,will strengthen cooperation and mutual support in all fields, contributing tothe development of the Vietnam-Laos relations.
He expressed belief that theLao province will make greater achievements in the future, fulfilling thetargets set by the provincial Party Congress.
On the occasion, he announcedthe construction of a high school as a present to Bolikhamsai. He also joinedthe thread tightening ceremony, a traditional practice of Laos to prayfor peace and prosperity of both countries.
He also paid a floral tributeto Xixomphon Lovanxay, one of the first members of Laos’ revolution, at his monument.
The same day, the Party chiefand the Vietnamese delegation left Bolikhamsai for Hanoi, concluding his three-dayofficial visit to Laos.-VNA