Vientiane (VNA) – Cooperation between theMinistries of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and Laos have shown its important role inand significant contributions to the development of the great friendshipbetween the two countries, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung has stated.

Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the 60thfounding anniversary of the Vietnam-Laos diplomatic relations (September 5,1962-2022) and 45 years of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation(July 18, 1977-2022), Hung highlighted that along with  the military front,diplomacy was the common battlefield of both countries during the struggleagainst the French colonialism and American imperialism.

Through diplomacy, Vietnam called for international support tothe struggle for independence of the Lao people and the recognition of its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity through the GenevaAgreement in 1962, he noted.

The diplomat said that since the two countries set up theirdiplomatic relations on September 5, 1962, the ties between Vietnam and Laos havebeen continuously reinforced and developed.

Both sides have pursued a diplomatic policy of peace, independence,self-reliance, friendship and cooperation, and multilateralisation anddiversification of relations. Vietnam and Laos have also actively integratedinto the world and been willing to be trustworthy partners of all countries,said Ambassador Hung.

He underlined that together with defence and security,diplomacy has become a key force for the promotion of cooperation between thetwo countries in all fields, with effective State diplomacy in reinforcing anddevelopment the bilateral relations, especially through the holding ofvisits by senior Party and State leaders to each other’s country.

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Party CentralCommittee’s External Relations Commissions of Vietnam and Laos have played the mainrole in organising annual meetings between the two Politburos and theInter-Governmental Committees, helping accelerate bilateral partnership anddrive the cooperation in the right direction with higher quality and efficiency, hesaid.

Hung stressed that the diplomatic sectors of both countrieshave greatly contributed to the completion of border demarcation, the increase of the border markers, and the restoration of the marker system, settling problems in unorganised migration and undocumented marriage along the shared border, while helpingspeed up the expansion of border gates and build a 2,300km borderline of peace,stability and development.

At the same time, the sector has contributed to the growthof two-way trade in recent years, while helping beef up bilateral collaborationin culture, education, information and communications, health care, andpeople-to-people contacts.

Meanwhile, the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs have takenthe lead in bolstering the bilateral collaboration in the new period, focusing onhelping each other in deeply and extensively integrating into the region andthe world, said the diplomat.

Both sides have actively supported each other in joininginternational and regional organisations, while regularly exchanging informationand consulting each other at forums such as the UN, ASEAN and ASEM, he noted,adding that the two ministries have also supported each other in hosting manyimportant international and regional events.

Ambassador Hung affirmed that the diplomatic sectors ofVietnam and Laos have worked closely in strategic research and forecast ofregional and international situations, on the foundation of high trust andconsensus in evaluating the situation, while cooperating closely in personneltraining, with Vietnam helping Laos train many high-quality diplomaticofficials./.