Hanoi (VNA) – The upcoming visit to Vietnam by General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith is expected to contribute to deepening close and trusting relations between leaders of the two Parties and countries in the time ahead.

Thongloun Sisoulith, his wife and a high-ranking delegation of the Lao Party and State will pay an official visit to Vietnam from June 28-29, at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and their spouses.

This is the first overseas trip by Thongloun Sisoulith in his capacity as Lao Party General Secretary and President for the 2021-2026 tenure, helping to affirm the two countries’ foreign policies of attaching great importance to preserving and continuously developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation.

The relationship has been consolidated and developed intensively, extensively, practically and effectively in different spheres, with political ties playing the core role.

The two sides have coordinated to organise visits, meetings and exchange programmes between leaders of the two Parties and countries, while signing many important cooperative agreements between the two Parties and governments.

Party commissions, ministries, agencies and localities of Vietnam and Laos have also signed and actively implemented cooperative agreements and programmes, exchanged visits and shared experience.

Joint efforts have been made to raise public awareness of the bilateral ties, especially among young people, organise major events, and build and upgrade historical relic sites featuring the relations.

Despite the complex development of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and early 2021, the two countries maintained a number of visits and meetings in suitable forms.

Cooperation in national defence and security, and external affairs has also been seen as an important pillar of the bilateral ties.

The two sides have worked together to realise protocols and annual cooperative plans between the ministries of national defence and public security, build a common border of stability and sustainable development, complete a project to increase and upgrade border markers, and reach a protocol on Vietnam – Laos borderline and border markers and an agreement on land border and border gates management regulations between the Vietnamese and Lao governments.

Competent forces of the two countries have coordinated in the fight against cross-border crime, especially drug smuggling, the search and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese volunteers and experts who laid down their lives in the neighbouring country, and the COVID-19 combat.

At the same time, the two countries have closely and effectively coordinated at multilateral forums.

The political ties have created a firm foundation for the bilateral economic cooperation. Vietnam has invested 4.22 billion USD in 413 projects in Laos so far, up about 30 percent from 2010, with about 2.2 billion USD disbursed.

During the 2016-2020 period, two-way trade revenue stood at around 4.8 billion USD.

Attention has also been paid to cooperation in personnel training in transport and construction, energy industry; education and training; and people-to-people diplomacy.

The Vietnam visit by the top leader of Laos will offer an opportunity for the two sides to further exchange experience in development, and seek measures to push ahead with the implementation of high-level agreements between the two Parties and countries in 2021 and the years to come./.