Many agreements reached at the Vietnam-Laos Cooperation Sub-Committee Conference

On December 17, in the capital Vientiane (Laos), the 36th Vietnam-Laos Cooperation Sub-Committee Conference took place.

Attending the conference were Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc - Politburo member - Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Vietnam-Laos Cooperation Sub-Committee; Mr. Somsavad Lengsavath - Politburo member - Deputy Prime Minister - Chairman of the Laos-Vietnam Cooperation Sub-Committee, and representatives of ministries and branches of the two countries.

Overview of the Vietnam-Laos Cooperation Sub-Committee Conference

The conference focused on evaluating the results achieved in the past year and the shortcomings that need to be overcome in the coming time.

After listening to the delegates' comments, the conference reached an agreement: Regarding political diplomacy, focus on implementing the contents of the joint statements and high-level agreements between the leaders of the two Parties and States, step up propaganda and education on revolutionary traditions, especially for the young generation of the two countries, about the special friendship between Vietnam and Laos, Laos and Vietnam.

Agreed to add historical content about the relationship between the two countries and the Vietnam-Laos fighting alliance to school curricula, continue to strengthen political relations and exchange delegations of leaders at all levels.

Regarding national defense and security, continue to coordinate closely, focusing on building a stable and comprehensively developed Vietnam-Laos border.

The two sides continue to prioritize each country's capital resources to expand roads connecting the two countries and upgrade border gates, promptly resolving arising issues...

Regarding education and human resource training, the Vietnamese Government in 2014 will increase scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate training as well as long-term and short-term training courses for Lao officials.

In addition, in the economic and trade fields, continue to promote and create conditions for Vietnamese investors to expand and seek investment opportunities in Laos on the basis of trust, quality assurance, reputation, long-term cooperation and mutual benefit.

At the conference, leaders of the two countries and relevant ministries and sectors also discussed and proposed measures to promote bilateral trade cooperation with the goal of increasing by 15-20% each year, striving to reach a turnover of 2 billion USD by 2015.

Besides, other issues such as: Transportation, policy mechanism issues, agricultural and forestry cooperation, and aid use issues were also discussed.

On this occasion, the two Deputy Prime Ministers and members of the delegation also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on providing credit worth 80 million USD for the road construction project in Northern Laos and an Agreement on granting scholarships to Lao students.

According to VOV