(KPL//TASS)  TASS Russian Agency has reported that Laos is grateful to Russia for its assistance in locating and eliminating unexploded mines and other ordnance left over from the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s, Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) Vice President Pany Yathotou said, speaking at a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), which is taking place in Vladivostok on September 10-13.

Laos receives crucial support from Russia in the process of de-mining its territory, she said. "We still suffer from unexploded mines and ammunition, which negatively affects the lives of our people. We managed to clear more than 20,000 hectares of our territory from ammunition and return it to the people with Russia's help. By clearing the land, we are accomplishing the most important task for us: the elimination of this danger," Yathotou said.

According to Laos' national development strategy, the search for and elimination of unexploded ordnance is a top priority. "We are still experiencing great problems with the elimination of the consequences of the war. We are receiving humanitarian and technical assistance from Russia and international organizations. However, we have not managed to completely clear our territory of ammunition so far," the Laotian vice president said.

Specialists from the International Mine Action Center (IMAC) of the Russian Armed Forces have been carrying out work to clear unexploded ordnance on the territory of Laos since 2018. Over this period, Russian and Laotian sappers have jointly found and cleared more than 2,000 explosive objects, and about 150 soldiers from the engineering troops of the Lao People's Army have undergone professional training under the aegis of the IMAC mission.

During the Vietnam War, large swathes of Laotian territory were traversed by the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail, a critical transportation artery, covering more than 20,000 km of land and water routes, that was established to transport supplies from North Vietnam for the South Vietnamese resistance forces, partially through the territory of Vietnam’s neighbors. The US Air Force mercilessly bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail, dropping some 1.5 million tons of bombs on it. Some of these munitions are still live and thus threaten the lives and health of the inhabitants of the three countries of Indochina: Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

KPL