Lao Party General Secretary and President Bounnhang Volachith has highly valued cooperation between Lao and Vietnamese armies over the past time, vowing to facilitate bilateral defence ties.

Lao Party General Secretary and President Bounnhang Volachith (R) and Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People’s Army Luong Cuong.

He suggested the two armies promote their role and collaboration in various fields, including the Party and political work, during a reception for Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People’s Army Luong Cuong in Vientiane on July 11.

The host affirmed to create all favourable conditions for the two nations to develop their defence ties based on the agreements reached by the two Governments and Ministries of National Defence.

He expressed his belief that bilateral defence relations will witness new steps of development in the future, contributing to the reinforcement of the Vietnam-Laos brotherhood.

Senior Lieutenant General Cuong said Vietnam attaches great importance and prioritise to nurturing and promoting traditional friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation with Laos.

He congratulated Laos on its remarkable achievements gained under the leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP). He affirmed that the general political department will continue to cooperate with Laos to increase the relationship between the two countries and armies.

Earlier, Cuong held talks with Lieutenant General Vilay Lakhamphong, Director of the General Department of Politics of the Lao People’s Army, during which he underlined that Laos is a close neighbouring country of Vietnam.

The two sides informed each other about cooperation between the two departments with notable outcomes seen in delegation exchanges, training, and experience sharing to increase mutual trust and prevent any plots to separate the relations between Vietnam and Laos.

They agreed to to implement fully and effectively the Protocol and cooperation plans to strengthen comprehensive collaboration and mutual trust between the two Parties, States, armies, and peoples to maintain peace, political and social stability in the respective countries.

The officials also agreed to enhance cooperation between communication agencies of the two armies, increase exchanges among young soldiers as well as culture and sports activities while pushing ahead with the search and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese voluntary experts and soldiers who sacrificed in Laos in wartime, along with preventing cross-border crime to ensure security and safety in the shared borderlines.

The year 2017 will mark 40 years of signing Vietnam – Laos Amity and Cooperation Treaty and 55 years of establishing bilateral diplomatic ties.

VNA