General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith and the Lao high-ranking delegation left the central province of Nghe An on December 21 and concluded the official friendly visit to Vietnam from December 19-21.

General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith (L) and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong

During his stay in Vietnam, the Lao leader held talks with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and had a meeting with President Tran Dai Quang before announcing the ending of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Solidarity Year 2017.

He also met Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, and visited some former Party and State leaders of Vietnam. He also hosted receptions for leaders of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Association and Vietnamese former voluntary soldiers and experts in Laos, Vietnamese youngsters, and Lao students in Vietnam.

He visited some economic and cultural facilities of Hanoi, Nghe An and the Military Zone 4 Headquarters. He also laid flowers at the Martyrs’ Monument in Hanoi and paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at the late leaders’ mausoleum as well as the Kim Lien Historical Relic Site in Nghe An’s Nam Dan district.

At the meetings, the two sides pledged to continue to inherit and promote the tradition to protect and develop the special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, State and people, considering it as a matter of vital importance to the future of the two nations.

They agreed on orientations and measures to continue boosting bilateral relations and working closely together to effectively implement agreements between the two countries. The will maintain regular meetings between Party and State leaders, while enhancing the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation mechanisms and expanding partnership as well as fostering relations between ministries, organisations and localities of both sides.

Vietnam and Laos will also strengthen communications, especially among youngsters, on the special ties of Vietnam and Laos.

They concurred to improve the effectiveness of cooperation in economy, investment, trade, culture, education and training, health care and science-technology, as well as defence and security, while supporting citizens of each other. The two countries will also coordinate closely at regional and international forums.

They also highlighted the need to maintain peace, stability, security and safety in the East Sea.

The same day, General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith sent a message to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Tran Dai Quang expressing his thanks for Vietnam’s warm welcome to him and the Lao delegation.

He said he believes that the outcomes of the Laos-Vietnam, Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Solidarity Year 2017 as well as discussions of leaders of the two countries will help boost bilateral ties, benefiting their people.

He also expressed his wish that the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States and people of Vietnam and Laos will be ever green and stable.

Vietnam, Laos need to further develop ties more than ever: Lao Party leader

General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith pays a visit to the 4th Military Region in central Nghe An province. 

In the rapidly-changing, complex and unpredictable world, Vietnam and Laos need to maintain and further develop their long-standing and loyal relations more than ever, said General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith on December 21.

He made the remarks at a meeting with military officials and soldiers of , on the last leg of his three-day official visit to Vietnam.

He expressed his sincere thank to the Party, State, armed forces and people of Vietnam for their support and sacrifice for the Lao struggle for independence in the past and the national building and protection today.

Many Vietnamese soldiers from the 4th Military Region have sacrificed their youth and lives to bravely stand alongside the people and army of Laos in the revolutionary war while many others were sent to aid Laos’ socio-economic development and key infrastructure projects after the war, he noted.

The general secretary urged the two nations to continue maintaining and developing the bilateral relations so the young generation and military officials and soldiers from both sides will have a proper understanding of the Vietnam-Laos special partnership and together nurture the ties towards sustainability.

Cooperation between the two countries’ armed forces should focus on quality and effectiveness, he said, suggesting that they need to work together to find more practical forms of cooperation that bring benefits to both sides and do not let any act of sabotage get in the way.

Commander of the 4th Military Region Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, for his part, said the military region and its units have closely coordinated with Lao authorities and localities to educate people of the two sides on policies of the two Parties and States, strengthen the grass-root political systems and promptly prevent acts of sabotage to ensure security along the shared border. 

Cuong gave the Lao leader an overview of the two sides’ cooperation activities in training, healthcare and search for Vietnamese martyrs in Laos. He also expected to receive more support from the Laos to repatriate the remains of fallen Vietnamese soldiers and experts.

VNA