PM Bouasone Bouphavanh meets Vietnamese counterpart

(KPL) Mr. Bouasone Bouphavanh, Prime Minister of the Lao PDR met on 25 November a Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, following his arrival in the country to attend the fifth Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Summit, scheduled for Nov. 26-27.
PM Bouasone welcomed PM Dung’s plan to attend the summit, saying that Vietnam ’s contributions will play an important role in ensuring the success of the event.
He took this occasion to extend his deep condolences to the Government and people of Vietnam over the huge losses they suffered as a result of the recent floods, particularly the families that were hardest-hit by the disaster.
The Lao PM said he supports Vietnamese businesses investing in his country and wishes to learn from Vietnam ’s experiences in managing its macro economy and successfully curbing its inflation rate.
At the talks, the Vietnamese PM Dung congratulated Laos on its hosting of the summit and stated his belief that the meeting would be a success, helping to foster cooperation to ensure the mutual development of the three nations.
The Vietnamese leader expressed his pleasure at the bilateral cooperation in the construction of residential areas along their common borders, and pledged to continue coordinating with Laos to effectively actualize a number of agreements reached by the two countries’ senior leaders.
Continuing in this spirit, PM Dung urged the Lao Government to step up cooperation in economic development projects and create more favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in the border areas.
He also requested that the Lao Government consider incentives for companies from Vietnam to pump investment into a number of fields, including transport, hydroelectric power and mining.The two government leaders informed each other of the current situation in their respective countries and expressed their delight at fruitful developments in bilateral relations, particularly in economic, trade and investment ties.Vietnam has to date invested more than 750 million USD in 141 projects in Laos , ranking second among foreign investors in the neighbouring country. Two-way trade reached 310 million in 2007 and is estimated to hit 450 million USD this year.
Both PMs Dung and Bouasone affirmed their resolve to further increase bilateral trade value to 1 billion USD in 2010, 2 billion USD in 2015 and 5 billion USD five years later.
They asserted their views that Vietnam and Laos still possess huge potential for cooperation in hydroelectric power, mining, transport, and the planting and processing of industrial crops, therefore the two countries should work to further promote cooperative ties in these fields.
The two PMs agreed to assign relevant ministries and agencies to prepare for the upcoming meeting of the Inter-governmental Committee, and revise the policies necessary to facilitate the bilateral cooperation for the development of both nations. Following their talks, PMs Dung and Bouasone witnessed the signing of a deal between the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Green Indochina Development Joint Stock Company of Vietnam to explore copper ore reserves in Attapeu province.
A memorandum of understanding regarding the construction of Sebanghien 1 and 2 hydroelectric power plants, with a combined investment of 399 million USD funded by the Song Da Corporation was also signed in the presence of the two government leaders.During this occasion, the Lao Government officially handed over a licence to the Drilling Mud Joint Stock Corporation, a subsidiary of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, granting permission to explore barite ore reserves in Savannakhet province.Later that afternoon, PM Dung visited the Embassy of Vietnam in Laos and the SEA Games Village for Athletes project.

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