PM affirms closer ties with Laos
(VOV) - The Party, State and people of Vietnam stand side by side with their Lao counterparts to foster the close ties between the two nations, PM Nguyen Tan Dung has said.
Dung made the statement at a reception given by Choummaly Sayasone, General Secretary of the Laos People’s Revolutionary Party and State President of Laos.
He arrived in Vientiane on March 12 to co-chair the annual development triangle summit and related meetings with leaders of Laos and Cambodia.
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| Lao President Choummaly Sayasone (L) welcomed PM Nguyen Tan Dung in Vientiane on March 12 (Photo: VGP) |
The Vietnamese government will instruct its ministries, agencies and localities to work closely with their Lao counterparts to realise high-level agreements to make breakthroughs in bilateral relations, especially in economic, trade and investment cooperation, said Dung.
He congratulated Laos on its recent successful organisation of the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the 7th Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP) meeting, as well as its admission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The success of these events helped elevate Laos’ profile in the region and the world, said PM Dung.
For his part, Choummaly Sayasone welcomed Dung to the summit and related meetings, and thanked Vietnam’s contributions to the Lao preparations for these events.
He expressed elation at the positive development of the special relationship between the two Parties, States, National Assemblies, governments and peoples of Laos and Vietnam.
He also spoke highly of the results of Laos-Vietnam Friendship and Solidarity Year 2012, helping the two countries’ young generations to further understand the ties of traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam.
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| PM Hun Sen (L) and PM Dung agreed to bring the Cambodia-Vietnam ties to a new level (Photo:VGP) |
The same day, PM Dung met with Cambodian PM Hun Sen who arrived there for the seventh Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Summit (CLV7), the 6th Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam Summit (CLMV 6), the 5th Ayeyawadi-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy Summit (ACMECS 5) and the talks between ACMEC leaders and business representatives
Both PMs noted with satisfaction the growing ties between Vietnam and Cambodia, primarily in economic, trade, investment and tourism cooperation.
Vietnam has so far invested in 116 projects in Cambodia, mostly in the areas of telecommunications, power generation, mining, agriculture, and rubber plantation and processing. Two-way trade in 2012 reached US$3.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18 percent.
They acknowledged the two countries’ efforts in organising the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Year and celebrating 45 years of their diplomatic ties last year.
They also discussed measures to bring the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation to a new level.
Dung invited Hun Sen and his wife to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time in 2013.
During the meetings, the three leaders agreed to protect the environment and water resources of the Mekong River, and support ASEAN’s common stance stated in the Six-Point Principle on the East Sea.
The Principle underlines the need to maintain peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of maritime in the East Sea, settle all disputes through peaceful means, and conform to international law, primarily the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the East Sea, toward formulating the Code of Conduct (COC) in the sea.