Laos and China will push forward practical cooperation to realise the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership established by the two countries in 2009.
Mr Choummaly Sayasone ( right ) shakes hands with Mr Zhou Yongkang during his visit to Laos on Friday.
The commitment was made during an official visit to Laos by a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Zhou Yongkang, last week.
China does not only play a key role in promoting peaceful regional and global development, but is also one of the biggest foreign investors in Laos.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Chinese firms have invested in 397 projects worth about US$2.71 billion over the last 10 years.
The total volume of bilateral trade exceeded US$1 billion last year, marking year-on-year growth of more than 40 percent, according to Xinhua media report recently.
Mr Zhou is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and also secretary of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee.
He held bilateral talks with General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of Laos, Mr Choummaly Sayasone, in Vientiane on Friday,
The Lao president said he appreciated the visit of the high-level Chinese delegation to Laos as it would contribute to driving forward the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership of the two countries.
Mr Zhou said China is willing to bring the bilateral all-around strategic cooperative partnership into practice by carrying out detailed plans, projects and operations.
During his two-day visit to Laos, Mr Zhou held bilateral talks with his Lao counterpart Mr Bounnhang Vorachit and attended the signing ceremony for about a dozen bilateral cooperation agreements.
The agreements included China's provision of 150 million yuan (almost US$23.5 million) in grant aid to the Lao government; China's financial assistance of 450 million yuan (about US$70.3 million) for the Lao international convention centre, a bridge construction project across the Mekong River in Pakbaeng district of Oudomxay province; and, the improvement of Xieng Khuang provincial airport.
Mr Zhou also met with met Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong at the Government Office in Vientiane where the two sides discussed in depth their cooperation in security, law enforcement, drug control and border management to contribute to the political security and social stability of the two countries.
Mr Zhou said the two nations needed to expand cooperation in such areas as infrastructure construction, border crossing construction and poverty reduction.
The two sides recognise that there is a need to encourage their enterprises to invest in each other's country, improve the investment climate and work to facilitate bilateral people-to-people exchanges.
Laos is the second leg of Zhou's five-nation Asian tour. Following visits to Nepal and Laos, Mr Zhou flew to Cambodia before visiting Tajikistan and Mongolia.
China to finance convention center in Vientiane and bridge over Mekong
VIENTIANE, Laos--China has agreed to lend Laos US$70.3 million for the construction of a new convention center in Vientiane and other projects, media reports said Monday.
The pact was signed Friday in Vientiane during an official visit by Zhou Yongkang, a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party, the Vientiane Times reported.
The money will fund the construction of the Lao International Convention Center, which is to host the ninth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on November 4-6, 2012.
The ASEM brings together the heads of state of the 27 European Union member states and of 16 Asian countries, as well as the European Commission and the secretariat of the Association of South-East Asian Nations.
The loan will also finance the construction of a bridge across the Mekong River and the expansion of Xiang Khouang provincial airport, 200 kilometers north of Vientiane, the report said.
-- Edited by buckhumnoy on Monday 22nd of August 2011 08:15:40 PM
