Laos, Yunnan enjoy promising cooperative prospects

Lao Consul General Khamphone Vongsanti speaks at a reception in Kunming on Jan 11, 2017. 

“Yunnan enjoys important geographical advantages, and has had extensive and close cooperation with Laos in the fields of culture and agriculture. The results have been fruitful,” said Khamphone Vongsanti, who recently took office as the new Lao Consul General in Kunming. He was speaking during an exclusive interview with Yunnan Daily on bilateral relations.

“The Laos-China friendship goes back a long way to ancient times. We have always been cooperating with each other as good neighbors, partners and friends in international and regional affairs.”

Yunnan is China’s only region that borders Laos. Speaking of the Laos-Yunnan cooperation, the consul general was passionate. At present, the cooperation is entering a new era, with intensifying interconnection and great potential in trade, investment, tourism and cultural cooperation, he said.

Interconnection is the basis of mutual cooperation. With the opening of the Kunming-Bangkok Highway, new power lines and financial services in the region, the two sides are connected more closely. The under-construction China-Laos International Railway has become a new focus for public attention, and will be of great significance to people living along the railway. It is set to turn Laos from a landlocked country into a “land-connected” country. Therefore, the Lao government attaches great importance to this project and looks forward to its early completion. It will help infrastructure improvement brings about improvements in other fields.

In addition, the two sides have also seen close cooperation in agriculture and forestry. For example, Yunnan helped establish Laos’locust disaster and disease control center. Vongsanti also looked forward to more bilateral medical and health cooperation.

By Zhang Ruogu, Bai Yan