Lao ambassador meets Thai armed forces chief

BANGKOK, October 13 (TNA) - Thailand will further strengthen bilateral relations with Laos, while also maintaining bilateral cooperation in various areas. Thai Supreme Commander General Worapong Sa-nganetr made the pledge on Monday, when Lao Ambassador to Thailand Ly Bounkham paid a courtesy call on him at the Royal Thai Armed Forces headquarters on the outskirts of Bangkok. Also pledging strengthened and long-time bilateral relations between Vientiane and Bangkok at the government-to-government, military-to-military and people-to-people levels, the Lao top envoy reportedly told the Thai armed forces chief that peace and order have apparently returned to Thailand after the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has taken the administrative power since May 22, 2014. The Lao ambassador also thanked the Thai military for offering training to the Lao military personnel. In return, the Thai armed forces chief offered his thanks and stressed that the two neighbouring countries will continue to work together to solve problems of mutual concerns and interests in a more concrete manner, while expressing Thailand's readiness to support educational exchanges between the two countries. Laos and Thailand share an almost identical language and the majority of their citizens are Buddhist. (TNA)