Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang is paying a two-day official visit to Laos to enhance the longstanding relationship and comprehensive strategic partnership between Laos and China.

The visit by the Chinese Prime Minister is in response to an invitation by Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith.

Following a welcome ceremony held in the Chinese Prime Minister’s honour on Thursday, a bilateral meeting was held at the Prime Minister’s Office, where the Chinese Prime Minister and his Lao counterpart highly valued the relations and cooperation between the two Parties and governments and people of the two countries.

They noted that the relations and cooperation between the two countries had recorded a constant growth and been deepened in a number of areas as reflected in the exchange visits by high ranking officials of the two countries especially the visit paid early this month by Secretary General and President Bounnhang Vorachit.

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and his Chinese counterpart agreed to continue to promote the cooperation on economics, trade, investment, and tourism as the bilateral trade between the two countries reached USD 3 billion last year with the investment by Chinese companies in Laos topping the foreign investment in the country totaling 765 projects with a combined capital of USD 7 billion. 

Chinese visit arrivals in Laos exceeded 1 million people last year, similarly the number of Lao visitors in China was increased.

Both sides noted that the launch of the first Lao satellite Lao Sat 1 and the Lao China Railway project are noticeable landmarks of the cooperation between the two countries.

Both sides agreed to organize activities to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Laos and China this year and to encourage relevant sectors of the two countries to continue to implement programmes and to deliberate on incorporating the 8th five-year national socio-economic development plan of Laos into the 13th five-year national socio-economic development plan of China in line with the One Belt One Road initiative of China and Laos’ vision of turning itself from a landlocked nation into a landlinked country.

Both sides agreed to promote the visit exchange of the high ranking officials of the two countries and continue to enhance cooperation on theoretical exchange, and organize annual theoretical workshops between their Party officials, and promote the exchange of delegations of officials on a study tour programme and training of Party officials at all levels.

They also highly valued their effective cooperation in the regional and international arenas.    

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by KPL

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