President Truong Tan Sang arrived in Vientiane on Feb. 9, beginning his
three-day official visit to Laos at the invitation of Lao Party General
Secretary and State President Choummaly Sayasone.
The visit is
the first to Laos by Sang as the State President of Vietnam and the
first event in a series of activities celebrating the Year of
Vietnam-Laos Solidarity and Friendship 2012.
After a solemn
welcoming ceremony in the Presidential Palace, President Sang held talks
with Party General Secretary and President Choummaly Sayasone.
The
Lao leader applauded the Vietnamese delegation’s visit, saying it will
help bring the traditional friendship, special solidarity and
comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos to a new height.
The
two sides made a commitment to give every priority to consolidating and
strengthening that relationship, considering it an invaluable asset
that should be preserved and passed to future generations.
They agreed to raise two-way trade to 1 billion USD in 2012 and 2 billion USD in 2015.
After the talks, the two leaders attended a press conference to launch the Year of Vietnam-Laos Solidarity and Friendship.
They
witnessed the signing of several documents on cooperative activities,
including a cooperation plan in 2012 between the two education
ministries, a protocol on training cooperation between the two
governments, and a contract on long and medium-term credit worth 50
million USD between the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry
and Trade and the Lao Central Bank./.
