Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Central Committee of Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Lao PDR in Vientiane today. Prime Minister congratulated President Sisoulith for successfully hosting the ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit, informed the Prime Minister’s Office.
The two leaders discussed bilateral ties and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen the close partnership. They noted that India-Laos contemporary partnership was deeply rooted in age-old civilizational bonds. They expressed satisfaction at the ongoing collaboration between the two countries in the fields of development partnership, heritage restoration and cultural exchanges. Highlighting that 2024 marks a decade of India’s Act East Policy, Prime Minister noted its salience in adding further momentum to India’s engagement with Laos. While referring to civilizational ties between the two countries, Prime Minister called for strengthening people-to-people ties through the opportunities presented by the new Nalanda University. President Sisoulith thanked Prime Minister for India’s humanitarian assistance to Lao PDR in the wake of floods caused by Typhoon Yagi.
Prime Minister thanked President Sisoulith for the support extended by Laos to strengthen India-ASEAN ties. The two leaders also discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest.
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Modi also held bilateral talks with the Prime Minister of Lao PDR Sonexay Siphandone in Vientiane today. He congratulated Lao PM on successfully hosting the 21st ASEAN-India and 19th East Asia Summits.
The two Prime Ministers held productive talks on further strengthening India-Laos civilizational and contemporary ties. They discussed various areas of bilateral cooperation such as development partnership, capacity building, disaster management, renewable energy, heritage restoration, economic ties, defence collaboration, and people-to-people ties. Prime Minister Siphandone thanked Prime Minister for India’s flood relief assistance provided to Lao PDR in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi. The two leaders noted that the ongoing restoration and conservation of Vat Phou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, under Indian assistance by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) imparts a special dimension to bilateral ties.
The two Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction at the close cooperation between the countries in regional and multilateral for a. PM Siphandone reaffirmed India’s role on the international stage. India has strongly supported Lao PDR’s Chairmanship of ASEAN for 2024.
Following the talks, MoUs/ Agreement in the fields of defence, broadcasting, Customs cooperation, and three Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation were exchanged in the presence of the two leaders. The QIPs relate to preservation of heritage of Lao Ramayan, restoration of Wat Pakea Buddhist temple with murals related to Ramayan, and support to shadow puppetry theatre on Ramayan in Champasak province. All three QIPs have a GoI grant assistance of about USD 50000 each. India will also provide a grant assistance of about USD 1 million to improve nutrition security in Lao PDR. This assistance through the India UN Development Partnership Fund, will be the Fund’s first such project in South-East Asia.
