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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR, Thongsavanh Phomvihane, held bilateral talks with MOTEGI Toshimitsu on May 22 at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo during his visit to Japan to attend the opening ceremony of the Lao Festival 2026, held from May 21-24.
During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on the growing cooperation and longstanding friendship between Laos and Japan. They highly valued the continued expansion of bilateral ties through government-to-government relations, people-to-people exchanges, and parliamentary cooperation.
The two countries established diplomatic relations on March 5, 1955, and cooperation has steadily expanded across multiple sectors. Both sides noted the successful celebration of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025, marked by high-level exchanges, including visits to Japan by Thongloun Sisoulith and Sonexay Siphandone, as well as the official visit to Laos by Princess Aiko, whose first overseas official visit was made to the Lao PDR.
The discussions also focused on implementing the outcomes of the January 2025 meeting between the Lao and Japanese prime ministers and further strengthening the Laos-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the years ahead. Both sides additionally exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Foreign Minister Motegi warmly welcomed the Lao delegation and reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to deepening bilateral relations. Deputy Prime Minister Thongsavanh expressed appreciation for the warm hospitality and reaffirmed Laos’ readiness to work closely with Japan to implement agreements reached by the two countries’ leaders.
He also extended an invitation to Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu to visit the Lao PDR at a mutually convenient time.
Deputy Prime Minister Thongsavanh highly appreciated the success of the AZEC Plus Summit on energy resilience held in April 2026 and welcomed the development of AZEC 2.0, aimed at promoting both energy security and sustainable economic growth across Asia.
On behalf of the Lao government and people, he expressed gratitude to the Japanese government and people for their longstanding support for Laos’ socio-economic development, including assistance in human resource development, infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture and forestry, and the deployment of JICA experts and volunteers throughout the country.
He also highlighted Japan’s continued humanitarian support for unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance efforts in Laos.
During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Thongsavanh invited Japan to participate in the Third Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which will be chaired by the Lao PDR in September 2026 in Vientiane.
He further informed the Japanese side that Laos is scheduled to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status this year and is implementing a Smooth Transition Strategy for 2026-2029 to ensure sustainable and resilient development. He expressed hope that Japan would continue supporting Laos in implementing this strategy.
KPL
