External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visits Lao PDR
New Delhi, Nov 23 (IBNS): Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister of India, paid an official visit to Lao PDR on Nov 22-23, officials said on Friday.
She was accompanied by a delegation of senior officers from the Ministry of External Affairs as well as some members of media.
India and Lao PDR enjoy warm and friendly ties characterised by exchange of regular visits at all levels.
"India and Lao PDR share age-old civilisational ties best symbolised by the relic of the Buddha encased in the That Luang Stupa, the national emblem of Lao PDR, and the Vat Phou Temple Complex, an ancient Shiva temple, whose earliest structures date back to the 5-6 century A.D. and which is currently being renovated and restored by the Archaeological Survey of India. In recent decades, bilateral cooperation has grown in many areas including India’s role in assisting Lao PDR in infrastructure building, human resources capacity building, agriculture & irrigation, IT and education among others," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Trade and economic cooperation has also been growing steadily.
During the visit, EAM co-chaired the 9th India-Lao PDR Joint Commission meeting along with Saleumxay Kommasith, Foreign Minister of Lao PDR.
The meeting reviewed the India-Lao PDR relations comprehensively and took note of all that has been achieved and current state of the various cooperation programmes.
The meeting also laid out the road map for future cooperation and enhancement in bilateral relations. The Agreed Minutes of the JCM was signed by the two Ministers at the end of the Meeting.
EAM met Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister of Lao PDR and discussed bilateral relations and various areas of mutual interest and cooperation.
Both agreed that India-Lao PDR enjoy excellent bilateral relations which need to be strengthened further through constant political dialogue and through increased trade and investment.
EAM assured PM Thongloun Sisoulith that India will stand by Lao PDR in its quest for development and growth and will be happy to assist through soft loans projects aimed at building Lao PDR’s infrastructure including roads, agriculture & irrigation, IT, human resource development and any other sectors.
EAM addressed the Indian community in Lao PDR.
"The community was very happy to interact with EAM and EAM warmly reciprocated the feeling," read the statement.
She asked the Indian community to forget all differences and work together as a community to promote the welfare of the Indian community in Lao PDR and also work towards contributing to the increase of bilateral contacts between India and Lao PDR especially in the commercial and cultural fields.
Image: Raveesh Kumar Twitter page
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