Laos, Vietnam seek to resume post-pandemic cooperation

Laos and Vietnam plan to extend efforts to revive their economies through mutual visits and people-to-people exchanges and are considering reopening flights between the two countries as soon as possible.
This was the main message delivered by the Lao and Vietnamese heads of government when they met for talks in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Sunday.
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith headed a delegation to the meeting, which took place on July 5-6 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
The two prime ministers said they highly valued the deepening friendship, solidarity, and mutual trust between the parties, governments, and nations of Laos and Vietnam, which they said had strengthened over the years.

They also expressed deep appreciation of their productive cooperation, especially the initial success in controlling the Covid-19 outbreak in their respective countries, as well as the mutual assistance provided during the pandemic.
Mr Thongloun expressed his joy at visiting Vietnam again now that Covid-19 had been brought under control and said he highly valued Vietnam’s great achievements.
Mr Phuc welcomed the achievements reported by the Lao Party and people and expressed confidence that Laos would soon be able to recover from the consequences of the pandemic.
According to the Vietnam Times, the two prime ministers stressed that in the immediate future efforts should be extended to drive the trade in goods and services, as well as people-to-people exchanges.
The two sides will consider reopening air routes at the earliest possible time, resume high-level visits and contacts and those at other levels, intensify exchanges of information, and share their experiences in socio-economic development.
They also agreed to accelerate effective implementation of agreements that had been signed and to intensify bilateral cooperation in the fields of defence, economics, trade, finance, and investment.
They exchanged views on international issues of mutual concern and agreed to continue to closely coordinate within the frameworks established by various forums.
Mr Thongloun congratulated Vietnam on successfully hosting the 36th Asean Summit and upholding its role as the Asean chair.
The Vietnamese prime minister thanked Laos for its coordination in contributing to the common effort to build the Asean Community into a powerful, cohesive and responsive bloc.
Mr Thongloun and his delegation also visited the Dien Nam-Dien Ngoc Industrial Park and several other production and service facilities in Quang Nam province.
The Vietnam Times, the media outlet of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, noted that the Lao prime minister’s visit was the first by a foreign high-ranking leader to Vietnam since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was clear evidence of the special relationship between Vietnam and Laos.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update July 7, 2020)