Laos Party Secretary General and President Thongloun Sisoulith (left) meets Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Russia.
VIENTIANE: The leaders of Laos and Vietnam have agreed to speed up plans around infrastructure development, aimed at creating rail and road links between the two neighbouring countries.
The main priority is the construction of a planned rail link between Thakhaek district, the capital of Khammuan province in central Laos, and the Vung Ang seaport in Vietnam’s Ha Tinh province, to enable freight transport.
These plans were cemented when Laos’ Party Secretary General and President Thongloun Sisoulith met Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, in Kazan, Russia, on Wednesday (Oct 23), on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
Once built, the rail link will enable Laos to access sea freight routes through Vung Ang Port, which the Lao and Vietnamese governments will partner in expanding and operating.
The two leaders also agreed to continue cooperation for the construction of the Vientiane-Hanoi expressway, as well as the integration of various systems, regulations and policies in relation to finance and energy.
They also reaffirmed their intention to support each other through bilateral and multilateral frameworks at the regional and global levels.
The talks between the two leaders served to further strengthen the great friendship and all-round cooperation between the parties, states and peoples of Laos and Vietnam, so that their relations continue to develop and flourish, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
President Thongloun asked for news about General Secretary To Lam and other Vietnamese leaders and offered congratulations to Vietnam’s newly elected President Luong Cuong, who was appointed as the country’s 14th president by the National Assembly last week.
President Thongloun expressed his gratitude to the leaders and people of Vietnam for their support and assistance in enabling Laos to fulfill its duties as the Chair of Asean this year and in hosting the 45th General Assembly of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-45). - Vientiane Times/ANN
