VIENTIANE (Xinhua/Agencies): Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua and Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana paid a state visit to Laos from Monday to Wednesday.
The state visit is being made at the invitation of Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith. It aims to further strengthen the long-standing friendship, good-neighborly relations, and strategic partnership for sustainable growth and development between Laos and Thailand, Lao Economic Daily reported on Tuesday.
An official welcoming ceremony was held on Tuesday morning. Following the ceremony, the two sides held an official bilateral meeting.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida will undertake the visit to further strengthen the longstanding friendship and close relations between Thailand and Laos, according to a press release issued by Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.
The trip will mark the first visit by a Thai monarch to Laos in 32 years. The last was made by King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit on April 7–8, 1994.
During the visit, the King and Queen will attend an official welcoming ceremony and meet President Thongloun and his spouse at the Presidential Palace on March 17.
They will also grant audiences to Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and his spouse, as well as Xaysomphone Phomvihane, President of the National Assembly of Laos, and his spouse.
In the evening, the royal couple will attend a blessing ceremony and a State banquet hosted by the Lao president at the Presidential Palace.
During their stay in Vientiane, the King and Queen will also visit the Huayxone–Huayxua Agricultural Development Service Centre, the first royal project established in Laos on the initiative of King Bhumibol.
They will pay homage at Pha That Luang, Laos’ most revered Buddhist monument where sacred relics of the Buddha are enshrined, and view an exhibition of Lao silk and traditional textiles at the Traditional Lao Silk Residence.
The visit follows the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Laos, commemorated in 2025, and is expected to further deepen cooperation and longstanding people-to-people ties between the neighbouring countries. -- Xinhua/Agencies
