Laos, Russia celebrate Defender of the Fatherland Day
The office of the military attache of the Embassy of Russia to Laos held a reception celebrating the occasion of Defender of the Fatherland Day on Thursday.
The Russian public holiday dates back to 1918 and the establishment of the Red Army.
The celebration was attended by members of the Lao Politburo, Minister of National Defence, General Chansamone Chanyalath; Russian Military Attache to Laos, Andrew Likhachev; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Laos Mr Vladimir A. Kalinin; Colonel Rori Sitorus, Doyen of the Association of Military Attaches in Laos, and Lao and foreign colleagues.
Speaking at the event, Mr Likhachev said “This day marks a tribute of great respect for the heroic history of Russia, personifies the inextricable link between generations, and demonstrates the interest of our people in ensuring national and international security.
“On the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), it gave a strong impetus to the national liberation movement against colonialism around the world.
“We express gratitude to our veterans, Lao friends and other foreign partners who remember the lessons of history and together with us try to stop attempts to distort historical truth and adapt it to the personal biased political interests of some nations.
“Currently, the President of Russia and the country’s leadership pay close attention to bringing the armed forces in line with the military and political context and the level of external threats to the security of the Russian Federation with the aim of raising the state’s defence capability. We place an emphasis on international military cooperation conducive to the reduction of conflict potential, the forging of mutual trust and the strengthening of interstate relations.
“The Russian and Lao armed forces have a long history of traditionally friendly relations and cooperation in numerous fields that helps us develop military and military-technical cooperation at present. The military experts of our states have efficiently promoted multilateral interaction in the field of mine action as co-chairs of the expert working group on humanitarian demining of the dialogue mechanism of the Conference of Defence Ministers of Asean with dialogue partners.
“The demining team of the International Mine Action Centre of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation performs humanitarian demining in the provinces of Borikhamxay and Xieng Khuang together with specialists of the engineering forces of the Lao People’s Army. Russian sappers share the experience they got in Syria and train Lao colleagues in modern methods of searching for and destroying unexploded ordnance.
“In December last year, we successfully conducted the first military drills ‘Laros-2019’, under the slogan ‘shoulder to shoulder in the struggle for peace’, where army units of our countries advanced their skills on anti-terrorist actions. This event became a prerequisite for expanding the range of Russian-Lao military ties.
“More than 3,000 officers from the Lao People’s Army have been trained at Soviet and Russian military universities. Many of them hold responsible positions at present and make a significant contribution to strengthening the defence of Laos. They are celebrating the Defender of the Fatherland Day with us today.
“The high level of political dialogue between Russia and Laos is a solid basis for the development of state-to-state ties. Despite the difficult international situation, we continue strengthening Russian-Lao interaction in the military sphere, and foster relations of friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation between the peoples and armies of our countries.”
By Times Reporters
(Latest Update February 24, 2020) |
