At the opening of Lao Culture Week in Vietnam (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) –Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will pay an official visit to Laos from January11-12 at the invitation of his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandon.
It will be his first visit to Laos on the capacity as Vietnamese PM. He will also be the first foreignleader to visit Laos since Lao PM Siphandon was elected.
During the visit, PM Chinhwill co-chair the 45th meeting of the Vietnam-LaosInter-Governmental Committee and attend the closing ceremony of Vietnam-Laos,Laos-Vietnam Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022.
Award ceremony for 2022 special competition on history of Vietnam-Laos special relationship (Photo: VNA)
The visit will affirmVietnam’s consistent policy of treasuring and prioritising the great friendship,special solidarity and comprehensive partnership between the two nations, aswell as Vietnam’s support for Laos during its national renovation andintegration.
It is also meant to realise the foreign policy set at the 13th National Party Congress andreinforce external activities via Party, State and people-to-people diplomacychannels, as well as the Politburo’s conclusion on overseas Vietnamese affairsin the new situation.
As scheduled, both sideswill review outstanding achievements in bilateral ties in 2022 and lay outmajor orientations for 2023, jointly hold major celebrations, discuss measuresto enhance political-diplomatic and national defence-security cooperation, andeffectively implement legal documents related to border and overseas Vietnameseand Lao affairs.
They will also push forward economic-trade-investment,education and culture ties, connectivity between the two economies, contributingto effectively carrying out key projects and mutual liaison at regional andglobal forums, particularly within the framework of ASEAN and Mekongsub-regional cooperation.
The Vietnamese leader isalso due to meet Vietnamese community living in Laos and commit the Party andState’s support for them, thus contributing to upholding the great nationalunity.
A range of political,economic, education, cultural and tourism and people-to-people exchange activitieswere held during Vietnam-Laos, Laos-Vietnam Solidarity and Friendship Year2022.
PM Pham Minh Chinh (R) and his Lao former counterpart Phankham Viphavanh (Photo: VNA)
Two-way trade was estimatedat 1.63 billion USD last year, up 20% annually. With 238 valid projects worthabout 5.34 billion USD in Laos, Vietnam remained the third biggest investor inthe country.
About 14,000 Lao students are studying in 160Vietnamese educational establishments. In the first nine months of last year, Laoswelcomed around 197,000 Vietnamese visitors and roughly 26,000 Lao touristsarrived in Vietnam./.
