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| The Lao NA Chair welcomes her Vietnamese partner Nguyen Sinh Hung (Photo: VNA) |
(VOVworld) - National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung began an official visit to Laos on Tuesday. The visit affirms the two nations’ determination to strengthen their special relationship, and boost cooperation between their two Parties, Governments, and peoples. This visit marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, 35 years since the signing of the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty, and Vietnam-Laos Friendship Solidarity Year 2012.
In recent years, most of the Party and State leaders of Vietnam and Laos have made regular visits to each other’s country. Phankham Viphavan, a Lao Politburo member and President of the Laos – Vietnam Friendship Association, told VOV: ‘In the world, there’s no other relationship as special as the one between Laos and Vietnam. Leaders of both countries have always worked to help younger generations understand this traditional relationship. The friendship associations of Laos and Vietnam should take responsibility for educating the younger generations’.
2012 is being observed as a Year of Friendship and Solidarity between Vietnam and Laos to mark 50 years since diplomatic ties began in September 1962, and 35 years since the signing of the Friendship Treaty in July 1977. At the beginning of the year, each country established its own national steering committee for the event, and the committees have coordinated to organize celebrations and exchanges in economics, trade, culture, arts, and sports. Most notable was a conference on cooperative relations between the two National Assemblies that was held in April in Son La province, the birthplace of the two countries’ revolutions. Addressing the conference, Chairman Hung said ‘This is a chance for us to review and deepen the special friendship fostered by President Ho Chi Minh and President Kayson Phonvihan and increase the exchange of solutions to boost cooperation between our two National Assemblies’.
In the economic sphere, Vietnam and Laos are trying to raise their two-way trade turnover from 700 million USD last year to 1 billion dollars this year and 2 billion dollars by 2015. Vietnam will increase investment projects in Laos focusing on banking, finance, and rubber plantation to strengthen social security and reduce poverty. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said ‘We need to give more support to business communities, continue the dialogue mechanism between Government agencies to clear hurdles for enterprises, rapidly improve agreements relating to trade and investment, create trade policies, and encourage financial support for investment projects benefiting the two countries. Areas of potential for both nations include energy, agriculture, mineral exploration and processing, forestry, and aquatic processing’.
Vietnam and Laos have targeted completion of border landmark planting by 2014. The two countries are working closely to ensure that the construction of Road 2E linking Mường Khoa and Tây Trang will be finished this year, enabling the Vietnam Laos Vung Ang Joint Stock Company to use Vung Ang Port more efficiently. And both are continuing to pursue a project to improve education and human resource development until 2020.
Anh Huyen