Enhancing Cooperation: Myanmar and Laos hold bilateral talks

At the invitation of Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Tin Maung Swe, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic Mr. Thongsavan Phomvihane and Spouse, accompanied by a Lao delegation, paid an Official Visit to Myanmar.

The Union Minister received the delegation and held bilateral talks on Friday.

During the meeting, the Union Minister and the Laotian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs discussed ways to further strengthen the longstanding friendship and enhance cooperation between Myanmar and Laos.

Their discussions focused on promoting closer cooperation between the two ministries and the resumption of existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, strengthening cooperation in ensuring border security and combating transnational crimes, including online scamming, enhancing parliamentary cooperation between the two countries, and promoting government-to-government, parliament-to-parliament, as well as people-to-people exchanges. They also exchanged views on expanding cooperation in areas of mutual benefit, including education, energy, trade, labour, sports, and other sectors that contribute to the socio-economic development of both countries.

The Union Minister noted that the visit took place at a time when new Governments had recently assumed office in both Myanmar and Laos. He expressed his sincere wishes for the success of Laos' efforts to graduate from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) status.

He also conveyed appreciation for the visit, which reflected support for the positive developments taking place in Myanmar. Recalling that Myanmar and Laos joined ASEAN simultaneously, he expressed gratitude for Laos constructive support for Myanmar within ASEAN and reaffirmed Myanmar’s commitment to continuing close cooperation with Laos in regional and international fora.

The Laotian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed the positive developments in Myanmar and looked forward to strengthening the bilateral cooperation. He underscored the importance of upgrading border checkpoints and promoting border trade, and noted that people-to-people exchanges and interactions would be further enhanced through the friendship associations of the two countries. He also emphasized that matters related to ASEAN should be addressed in a spirit of family and ASEAN solidarity.

Furthermore, he reaffirmed Laos' commitment to continuing cooperation with Myanmar at the bilateral level as well as within ASEAN, the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), the Cambodia–Laos–Myanmar–Viet Nam (CLMV) framework, and other regional cooperation mechanisms.