VIENTIANE, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh arrived in Vientiane on Tuesday for a four-day visit to Laos.
The Vietnamese vice president had a meeting with her Lao counterpart Phankham Viphavanh before she paid a courtesy call to President Bounnhang Vorachith and had bilateral talks with Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Lao News Agency (KPL) reported.
According to local online newspaper Vientiane Times, the two vice presidents agreed to work together to deepen the friendly relations, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two neighbors.
During their bilateral talks, the leaders agreed to educate their Party cadres, officials and peoples, especially the younger generation, to fully grasp the tradition of special solidarity between Laos and Vietnam.
The two sides pledged to intensify cooperation in maintaining security along their shared border, to prevent transnational crime, human trafficking and the cross-border transport of drugs as well as illicit trade.
They also agreed to increase cooperation in preventing the illegal exploitation and excavation of natural resources along the border, striving to create a shared border of peace, friendship and development.
The leaders agreed to ensure that Vietnamese enterprises doing business in Laos were operating smoothly. They vowed to work hand in hand to increase the value of bilateral trade to meet agreed targets.
The two governments agreed to increase bilateral import-export turnover to three billion U.S. dollars by 2020, up from the 1.26 billion U.S. dollars recorded in 2015.
It was reported in December last year that Laos had licensed 423 projects invested by Vietnamese firms with a value of more than five billion U.S. dollars, putting Vietnam among the top three foreign investors in Laos.
Vietnamese investment is mostly in the fields of hydropower, mining, transport, industrial tree plantations, and services in Laos.
On the same day, the Vietnamese deputy president and her delegation also met with Lao President Vorachit and Prime Minister Sisoulith.
The leaders said they highly valued the friendly relations, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, states and peoples of Laos and Vietnam. They agreed to work together to further enhance their special ties, according to the report.
