(KPL) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Laos, Mr. Saleumxay Kommasith, met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, as the latter was in Laos to attend the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) from July 21-27, 2024, in Vientiane.

The two sides highly valued the cooperative relationship between the two countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally, which has constantly been strengthened and expanded based on mutual understanding, assistance, friendship, and long-standing cooperation. They also discussed future cooperation, agreeing to enhance bilateral relations in various fields, particularly in economic-trade, investment, energy, environmental protection, education, military, culture, tourism, and other areas of mutual benefit.

Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith expressed gratitude for the invitation for Laos to participate in the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Russia in June 2024. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also invited Laos to attend the BRICS Summit and the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok to be held by the end of 2024.

This meeting continued the bilateral consultations between the Lao and Russian Foreign Ministers, following the BRICS meeting in Russia in June 2024. It aimed to build on the outcomes of the meeting between President Thongloun Sisoulith and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in May 2024.

Following the meeting, the two sides signed three documents: an agreement on cooperation in cybersecurity between the governments of Laos and Russia, a consultation plan between the Lao and Russian Foreign Ministries for 2024-2026, and a memorandum of understanding on the pilot teaching of the Russian language at secondary schools between the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports and the Russian Federal Agency for Education.

KPL