Vietnam willing to support Laos in organising ASEM-9

VIENTIANE,21.02.2012 (KPL/VOV) - Relevant Vietnamese agencies will do their best to assist Laos to organize the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM-9) scheduled to take place in Vientiane on November 5-6 this year. The statement was made by Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh at a February 20 meeting with Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Bounkeut Sangsomsak who is on a three-day working visit to Vietnam. FM Minh expressed his delight at the strong development in the Vietnam-Laos special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation, especially the successful visits by senior leaders from the two countries after the Party congresses and National Assembly elections in each country. He highlighted the significance of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Solidarity Year 2012 launched by State President Truong Tan Sang and Lao Party General Secretary and State President Choummaly Sayasone. Both sides need to work more closely both in bilateral cooperation and at multilateral forums, FM Minh said. Deputy Foreign Minister Bounkeut Sangsomsak, who is also head of the ASEM Senior Official Meeting (SOM) delegation of Laos, spoke highly of Vietnam’s close and effective cooperation and thanked it for sharing experience in hosting ASEM and international activities. During his stay in Vietnam, Deputy FM Bounkeut Sangsomsak met with leaders of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry and the head of ASEM SOM Vietnam. The Vietnam visit by the Lao Deputy FM takes place while ASEM members are preparing a senior officials’ meeting in Denmark early next month to discuss preparations for ASEM-9, one of largest international conferences to be hosted by Laos. After 15 years of development, ASEM remains an important inter-regional forum with 48 members, representing more than 60 percent of the world’s population and contributing to 55 percent of the global GDP.