FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Laos, Japan PMs affirm specific steps in joint development plan

Laos, Japan PMs affirm specific steps in joint development plan

TOKYO - Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe have agreed in Tokyo to give shape to elements of a joint plan to conduct a wide range of development projects in Laos.

The leaders on Wednesday discussed concrete implementation of the plan that involves investment in transport, power generation and distribution, human resources, agriculture and public works.
They had agreed on the plan at a meeting in Vientiane last September.
“I’m happy that we were able to decide on assistance for Laos in the fields of financial administration and water supply, and for young public sector workers,” Abe said at a joint press opportunity after the leaders’ third bilateral talks since Thongloun took office in April last year.
“Through these various initiatives, as a strategic partner, Japan will give Laos a boost in getting out of the [United Nations’] ‘least developed country’ category by 2020,” Abe said.
Laos is a target destination for the Abe administration’s push for “high-quality” infrastructure investment in countries in the Asia-Pacific region, aimed at reaping both economic and strategic benefits.
Thongloun voiced appreciation for Japan’s contributions, adding that his government “wants to strengthen the environment for Japanese companies to invest in Laos”.
Thongloun said he and Abe affirmed their ongoing cooperation in realising direct flights between Vientiane and Tokyo.
He also hailed Japan’s commitment to working on roads and other infrastructure investment in the East-West Economic Corridor through the Mekong region to improve connectivity.
The land corridor project links Laos with Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The Mekong region is also connected by a north-south corridor, into which China has put significant investment.
Abe said he and Thongloun had “a frank and meaningful exchange of views on urgent regional and international issues and affirmed that they will work together on these issues ahead of Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings this year”.
“Laos is an important country that borders all the other countries in the Mekong region, and we will work together to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law, including by fortifying regional coordination,” Abe said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and his Laotian counterpart Saleumxay Kommasith discussed ongoing initiatives between the two countries.
Thongloun attended a conference on the future of Asia in Tokyo earlier in the week. He was scheduled to leave Japan on Thursday.

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