Over 90 per cent of Thailand, Laos land border demarcation completed

VIENTIANE, January 24 (TNA) -- More than 90 per cent of the land border demarcation between Thailand and neighbouring Laos has been completed, said Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Affairs Minister General Tanasak Patimapragorn. General Tanasak told journalists in the Lao capital of Vientiane on Friday, after attending a meeting with his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith, that the Joint Border Committee (JBC) meeting of the two countries has achieved a lot of progress as the two countries could solve a lot of border problems in the past year. He said a total of 210 border posts are planned to be erected so far, representing more than 90 per cent or over 676 kilometres out of the total land border distance in the past one year. General Tanasak is paying a two-day official visit to Laos to attend the 10th JBC and the 19th Thai-Lao Joint Commission on Bileteral Cooperation (JC) from January 23-24. Thongloun said Thailand and Laos would cooperate in solving land and river border problems to create peace along the two countries’ border and allow their people to coexist happily. The two countries are holding a two-day meeting, which began Friday, of the 10th JBC and the 19th Joint Commission. Meanwhile, Sek Wannamethee, director-general of the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Information Department, told journalists that participants at the 10th JBC meeting were told that six more border posts would be constructed in several areas and this would help boost cross-border tourism. A Thai-Lao technical committee has been assigned to conduct a survey on building more border posts in areas where development plans are to be launched, Sek added. (TNA)