(KPL)The French Embassy held the reception celebrating the 70th anniversary of Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Laos-France on November 17, in Vientiane. 

Attending the ceremony were the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Saleumxay Kommasith, line Ministers and Ambassadors and relevant officials.

" It is my great honour and pleasure to represent the Lao Government at this reception to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Laos and France, which marks another important milestone in longstanding friendly ties and good cooperation between our two countries," said DPM Saleumxay.

Laos and France shared long-standing legacy and on 22nd  October 1953 we signed a friendship treaty which was considered as a turning point of relations between Laos and France, he said. Since then, the bilateral and friendly relation has entered a new era based on mutual respect, sovereignty and independence. In 1989, the two countries signed a cooperation agreement in the fields of science, technology and culture, which has extensively brought a lot of benefits to the Lao PDR. In the political and diplomatic area, the two countries have enhanced at the high level. The high-ranking officials between the two countries have the regular exchange of visits, such as

In 1991, Mr Kaysone Phomvihane, then Prime Minister of the Lao PDR, visited the France Republic and Mr Jacques Chirac, governor of Paris, visited the Lao PDR in 1992, in 1997 Mr Khamtai Siphandone, Prime Minister of the Lao PDR, also visited the French Republic, in 2012 Mr François Hollande, former President of the French Republic visited the Lao PDR, and in 2013 Mr Choummaly Xayasone, former President of the Lao PDR, visited the French Republic, and I myself when I was Minister of Foreign Affairs also visited the French Republic in 2019.

At the same time, the two countries have also coordinated, collaborated and supported one another in both regional and international arenas, particularly in the framework of La Francophonie, UN, ASEM, ASEAN and other international organizations.

Two countries Laos-France have increased socio-economic cooperation mainly in the areas: Trade-investment, Education, Heath, Energy, Agro-ecology, Sustainable tourism, culture and etc.

The most welcome and please is the two countries have tried to promote trade and investment cooperation, in which the value of bilateral trade reached $38 million in 2022. French investments in Laos have 227 projects with a total value of 558 million dollars and France is ranked No. 8 of the foreign investments in Laos. These are qualified investment projects. Moreover, there is the relationship between people and people which can be seen that every year numerous peoples of two countries have travelled in each country, especially during the 9 months of 2023, according to tourism statistics, 26,794 French tourists visited Laos.

All of these reflect our strong commitment to continuously strengthening the cooperation and relationship between the two countries.

France is one of the important development partners of Laos. The assistance and support of France have significantly contributed to the socio-economic development of the Lao PDR, poverty reduction and the improvement of the livelihood of Lao people. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity,   on behalf of the Government of the Lao PDR, to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to the French Government for the support and valuable assistance provided to the Lao PDR in the past as well as the commitments to continue cooperation for the development of the Lao PDR in the future, in both bilateral and multilateral frameworks. I highly appreciate the development of Lao-French relations and stand ready to work closely with the French government to further enhance and Paris bring our friendly relations and tangible cooperation into a new height for common benefits of our two peoples.

To mark the historical 70th anniversary of Laos and France, the two countries organized many activities such as: the Lao Embassy in organized the lecture on the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Laos and France at Sorbonne University; a meeting to promote and advertise Lao tourism, and also a Lao-France economic Forum. At the same time, the French Embassy in Vientiane also organized many crucial events such as the Laos and France Fashion Week, the festival France-Laos and a joint Laos-France friendship Tree planting at Chao Anouvong Park. Specifically, both countries launched the France-Laos Economic Forum which is the first meeting ever to gather the Lao companies and foreign investors to exchange their opinions on promoting the investment and trade cooperation in Laos.

KPL