Lao Party chief pays official friendly visit to Vietnam

The visit, which is made at the invitation of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Tran Dai Quang, is the first trip abroad by Bounnhang Volachith as Lao Party General Secretary and President for 2016-2020.
Bounnhang Volachith was elected as General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) on January 22, 2016 at the first meeting of the 10th LPRP Central Committee.
He was named President of Laos on April 20, 2016 at the first session of the eighth Lao National Assembly.
The visit aims to affirm the solidarity and mutual trust between the Vietnamese Party, State and people and their Lao counterparts, as well as Vietnam’s strong and comprehensive support for the reform process, national defence and construction in the neighbouring country.
During the visit, the two sides are due to discuss measures to accelerate the implementation of high-level agreements reached by the two Parties and States.
Vietnam-Laos relations have been thriving across the board. Politically, the two countries have coordinated with each other in organising visits and meetings between Party and State leaders, as well as exchanges between ministries, agencies and localities.
Apart from three theoretical conferences between the two Parties, they have joined hands in marking major celebrations of the two countries.
In the sphere of national defence, security, and diplomacy, joint efforts have been made to actualising protocols between the two Defence and Public Security ministries, and an agreement on border management.
The two countries have completed a project on increasing and upgrading border markers and inked a protocol on the borderline and national border markers and an agreement on land border and border gate management regulations.