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President Thongloun Sisoulith received Letters of Credence from nine newly appointed foreign ambassadors to the Lao PDR and presented credentials to the country’s newly appointed ambassador to Cuba during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Vientiane on October 22.
(KPL) The nine ambassadors represent the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Mauritania, Nigeria, Brazil and Lithuania. Their diplomatic missions are based in Vientiane and other regional capitals, including Bangkok, Beijing and Singapore.
President Thongloun welcomed the ambassadors and congratulated them on their appointments, expressing confidence that their diplomatic experience and capabilities would help strengthen friendly relations and cooperation between Laos and their respective countries, both bilaterally and through multilateral frameworks.
He encouraged them to promote high-level exchanges and people-to-people contacts, expand cooperation in trade, investment, tourism and other areas of mutual interest, and translate existing memorandums of understanding into tangible results.
The President also encouraged the ambassadors to visit provinces across the Lao PDR to gain a better understanding of local development conditions and opportunities, and to help attract businesses and investors interested in investing in Laos.
In response, the ambassadors thanked the President for his welcome and expressed their commitment to fulfilling their diplomatic responsibilities and further strengthening friendly relations and practical cooperation with the Lao PDR.
On the same day, President Thongloun presented Letters of Credence to Mr. Chatoulin Sihaphom, the newly appointed Ambassador of the Lao PDR to the Republic of Cuba.
The President congratulated the ambassador on his appointment and urged him to apply his knowledge, experience and capabilities to expanding friendly relations and cooperation between Laos and Cuba.
Mr. Chatoulin thanked the President for his guidance and pledged to work to further strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation during his diplomatic mission
The celebration was co-hosted by the Lao Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism, under the co-chairmanship of Lao Minister of Culture and Tourism Suanesavanh Vignaket and Cambodian Minister of Tourism Huot Hak.
Activities included the 5th Tourism Technical Working Group Meeting, a tourism and investment seminar, business-matching sessions between public- and private-sector representatives, an exhibition of tourism and local products, friendship sports activities, and familiarisation trips for journalists and business operators.
At the technical working group meeting, the two sides agreed on the minutes of the meeting and adopted a Joint Tourism Action Plan for 2026–2028. They also discussed expanding international flight services to major tourist destinations and reviewing the memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation between the two countries.
A key priority is the development and promotion of an ancient heritage route linking Vat Phou in Champasak Province with Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The route covers approximately 260 kilometres, with a 3.7-kilometre trial walking trail already open.
The two countries also discussed organising seminars and exchanging experiences in managing World Heritage sites, as well as jointly marketing combined tourism itineraries to attract more international visitors.
The initiatives are expected to strengthen cross-border tourism, encourage investment and business partnerships, and deepen people-to-people exchanges as Laos and Cambodia build on seven decades of diplomatic relations.
KPL
