Vietnamese and Lao border officials agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in border management during their 26th annual meeting in Vientiane on January 5. 

The Vietnamese delegation was led by Deputy Minister and head of the Foreign Ministry’s National Boundary Commission while the Lao delegation was led by Foreign Minister Saleumsay Kommasith. 

Both sides reviewed the implementation of bilateral border agreements and the minute of the previous meeting, saying border management and protection have been effective. 

The fight against trans-border crimes involving national security, drug trafficking and religious practices has made positive contributions to maintaining sovereignty, ensuring political security, social safety and order in border areas. 

They evaluated remaining works of a project on increasing and upgrading national border markers and underlined progresses in collaboration in the fields of economy, trade, culture, education, health care and tourism among border localities. 

The two sides lauded initial outcomes of the government-level agreement on the settlement of free migration and unlicensed marriages in border areas, and the one-stop shop model which is being piloted in Lao Bao – Densavan border gates. 

This year, Vietnam and Laos are due to approve an agreement on Vietnam-Laos border and border gate management mechanisms and a protocol on Vietnam-Laos borderline and border markers, effectively launch several border gate development agreements, upgrade transport infrastructure and promote border trade. 

They will sum up the one-stop shop model and continue carrying out the government-level agreement on the settlement of free migration and unlicensed marriages in border areas.

They pledged to raise public awareness of legal regulations, especially among border cadres, village chiefs and prestigious persons in community, contributing to maintaining border stability, order and development. 

The 27th meeting of this kind is scheduled to be held in Vietnam in December 2017.

VNA