BANGKOK, 16 May 2011 – Thailand and Laos in the recent ASEAN Summit in Indonesia have agreed to jointly promote border cooperation in order to create peace and friendship between the two countries and turn the common border into ‘model boundary’.
According to Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Lao counterpart Thongsing Thammavong reached the resolution on the sidelines of the 18th ASEAN Summit in Indonesia.
As part of the cooperation, the third Thai-Lao friendship bridge linking the Thai province of Nakhon Phanom to Kham Muan in Laos will be inaugurated on 11 November 2011 while the construction of the fourth friendship bridge from the Thai northern district of Chiang Khong to Huay Xai in Laos will be expedited.
In addition, both sides agreed to step up coordination between local and central authorities of the two countries to prevent misunderstanding and enable the authorities to solve problems at the core in time.
According to Mr Alongkorn, Laos’ national revenue derives from exports which are in high demand in the global market such as copper, gold, textile and electricity. Tourism in Laos has also seen a srong development.
And in order to achieve continuous economic development, the Lao government plans to invite concessions for more than 40 large-scale investment projects in the country, set up special economic zones, draw infrastructural investment and attract overseas Lao people to return to the country with a target to make Laos the land-linked country of the region in the next five to ten years.
