Beijing (VNA) – Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong met with General Secretaryof the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith on the sidelines of the third Belt and Road Forum forInternational Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing, China, on October 19.

At the meeting, Thuong affirmed thatVietnam always attaches much importance to its relations with Laos, andconsiders the neighnouring country a priority in its foreign policy. He described the Vietnam – Laos ties as an invaluable common asset of the twopeoples, and an exemplary and pure relationship, which is rare in international relations.

Thongloun, for his part, said Laos treasures its relations with Vietnam, andhas made tireless efforts to nurture and develop the great friendship, special solidarityand comprehensive cooperation in a more sustainable and deeper way. He also promised to make contributions to bolstering the ties between the two Partiesand States.

Amidst global complicated changes which posed both opportunities and challenges, the twoleaders agreed to continue promoting their close politicalrelations, joining hands to maintain a peaceful and stable environment for development, andfocusing on the effective implementation of high-level agreements, deals and cooperationplans between the two Parties and States.

Along with meticulous preparations for high-level activities as well as sound implementationof bilateral cooperation mechanisms, the two leaders agreed to step updefence-security cooperation, which is a pillar in the bilateral relations.

They highlighted the need to maintain cultural, sport and tourismexchange mechanisms, and reached consensus on carrying out the project onimproving the quality and efficiency of the Vietnam – Laos cooperation ineducation and human resources development during 2021-2030.

Besides, they concurred to remove bottlenecks for importanteconomic-trade-investment projects, and boost collaboration in the fieldsof science, innovation, digital economy and e-commerce, among others.

They affirmed theimportance of enhancing cooperation and connectivity among Vietnam, Laos andCambodia, especially in economy-trade, infrastructure, tourism andcultural exchanges.

The leaders also agreed to promote coordination to ensure that Laos will successfully accomplish its role as the ASEAN Chair in 2024, helping promote the centralrole of ASEAN and bring practical benefits to the ASEAN people./.