The first Vietnam-Laos border friendship exchange will take place in the northern mountainous province of Son La on July 22-24, a senior official from the Defence Ministry’s Border Guard High Command told a press conference in Hanoi on July 12. 

Nguyen Tien Thang, head of the Political Department under the Border Guard High Command, said the event will involve the Border Guard High Command of Vietnam, the Lao Border Guard Department under the Lao General Staff of People’s Army, and the General Department of Police under the Lao Ministry of Public Security. 

It aims to foster solidarity and traditional friendship between Vietnamese and Lao border guards and increase their collaboration for the sake of a borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and development. 

The exchange is due to feature a joint patrol from Marker 256 to Marker 266 near the Long Sap border gate, martial art demonstration, inauguration of a military medical station, free health check-ups for local residents, and grant of scholarships to 10 poor students and breeding cows to 100 poor households from the two countries, and a seminar on border defence, anti-crime and socio-economic development at border areas. 

The event is concurrent with the 40th anniversary of the signing of Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (July 18) and the 55th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties (September 5).-VNA

Vietnamese, Lao localities build peaceful border

Officials from Vietnam’s central province of Thua Thien – Hue and Laos’ southern Salavan province signed an MoU on cooperation in border management at their annual meeting in Hue city on July 12.

The event was co-chaired by Nguyen Dung, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Thua Thien-Hue and Phuthong Khammanivong, Salavan’s Deputy Governor.

During the event, the two sides spoke highly of the two provinces’ cooperation in the past years, contributing to maintaining stable political security and social order in areas along their shared border line.

The border guard forces of the two provinces have well performed the border protection and management tasks, protecting border markers and signs.

Thua Thien Hue province has provided  950 million VND (41,790 USD) in aid to Salavan to build Co Tai border gate and helped repair the Co Tai primary school.

In the coming time, Thua Thien-Hue province will continue coordinating with Salavan to help Lao residents in border areas stabilise their lives, providing them with plant and animal varieties along with training in cultivation and breeding techniques.

The Vietnamese locality will also help the Lao counterpart give free health check-up and treatment to border residents. 

The two sides pledged to further strengthen border management, boost border trade and work together to implement their Governments’ agreement on dealing with unplanned migration and unregistered marriage across the border.

Vietnam-Laos relations grow intensively: Lao official

Head of the Lao Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Sounthone Sayachac (L) and Vietnam News Agency's reporter 

 Amid complicated developments of the regional and international situations and changes in each country, the special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos have been developing intensively and extensively across the board.

The statement was made by Sounthone Sayachac, head of the Lao Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency in Laos on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties and the 40-year signing of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty on Amity and Cooperation.

She said on September 5, 1992, Laos and Vietnam set up their diplomatic ties, opening up a new chapter in the two countries’ relations.

During the struggle for national liberation in each country, the special friendship and fair-minded help between the two countries and people became a peerless strength and an important factor contributing to their victory in 1975.

According to the official, over the past years, the two countries’ leaders have organised regular visits and meetings. They have paid attention to sharing experience in Party building and official training, and coordinating in external relations work.

Vietnam is among the biggest investors in Laos. Two-way trade has increased continually, contributing to Laos’s socio-economic development.

In recent years, the two countries signed several important cooperative agreements, including a project to build Laos’s National Assembly House, another on Vientiane-Hanoi Highway and an agreement on the two countries’ joint management and use of the Vung Ang port, she stated.

These projects will help create favourable conditions for the two countries to intensify their special friendship and solidarity, she added.

She continued by saying that Laos highly values Vietnam’s support in training the country’s human resources. There are currently more than 10,000 Lao students studying in Vietnam, which will be valuable human resources for Laos’s development in the future.

Amid complicated developments in the regional and international situations, the official recommended several orientations for Laos and Vietnam to maintain their fine relations.

She suggested the two Parties and States consider the education of their people, especially young generation, about the bilateral time-honoured friendship as a key mission.

Sounthone Sayachac also took this occasion to thank the Vietnamese Party, State, and people for supporting the Lao revolution.

She wished Vietnam will gain greater achievements during its industrialisation and modernisation process, and the two countries’ time-honoured friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation will last forever.

VNA