VIENTIANE: Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith received a courtesy call from the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, General Ye Win Oo, on Wednesday (Nov 4).
General Ye Win Oo and his delegation are conducting an official working visit to Laos from November 3-6.
Saleumxay extended a warm welcome and said he highly valued the visit, describing it as an important step to strengthen the bonds of good-neighbourly friendship and enhance cooperative relations between the two nations and their respective militaries.
Saleumxay stressed the need to utilise bilateral mechanisms established between the two governments to work more closely together to curb illicit activities along the Laos-Myanmar border.
He congratulated and commended General Ye Win Oo on his appointment as the new Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
In return, Myanmar’s defence chief praised the appointment of Mr Saleumxay as the Prime Minister of the Lao PDR last month.
Saleumxay recommended that the Lao and Myanmar militaries continue to coordinate efforts to curb various illicit activities—such as illegal border crossings, transnational crime, telecommunications-related crime, smuggling, drug trafficking, and the use of illegal labour—along the Laos-Myanmar border.
General Ye Win Oo expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for the warm welcome and the support provided to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar over the years.
He also requested that Laos continue to support and assist Myanmar within regional and international forums, as well as through bilateral and multilateral cooperation frameworks.
In early July, Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing, accompanied by his wife and a high-level delegation, visited Laos at the invitation of President Thongloun Sisoulith.
The visit was part of activities marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Laos and Myanmar and aimed to further strengthen the longstanding friendship and good-neighbourly cooperation between the two nations.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the continued strengthening of bilateral relations, reflected in close political cooperation, regular exchanges of high-level visits, and strong mutual trust. They also welcomed progress in cooperation in defence and security, foreign affairs, trade, investment, transport, energy, labour, education and other fields.
The two sides agreed to encourage their relevant agencies to maintain close coordination and strengthen collaboration in areas including border security, information sharing, and cooperation in regional and international forums such as Asean, the United Nations, and the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation framework. - Vientiane Times/ANN
