PM forges closer ties with Chinese cities 

Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone is forging closer ties with Chinese cities during his tour of Zhejiang and Shanghai, vowing to join forces with city authorities to boost trade, investment, and cultural exchanges, leveraging the Laos-China railway as a kingpin in connectivity.

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng (right) welcomes PM Sonexay Siphandone and his wife.

During his first visit to Zhejiang on November 8-9, the Lao PM held talks with the province’s governor Wang Hao and encouraged authorities on both sides to work together to tap potential, leveraging the Laos-China rail link, the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.
Future business success can be built on available favourable factors including harnessing the Zhejiang chamber of commerce’s representative office in Laos, which has been in existence since 2013.
The PM and the governor noted that since the establishment of the commerce office in Laos, the two sides have witnessed growing momentum in bilateral trade, investment, tourism, education, and cultural links.  
Future cooperation will focus on fulfilling agreements reached between the top leaders of the two countries in line with the so-called ‘Four Good Spirits’ between Laos and China, namely good neighbours, good friends, good comrades and good partners.
Talks also included ways to encourage business operators in the two Chinese cities to engage with Laos to forge closer links in the tourism industry.
Interactions also underlined the need to further cooperate in human resource development and offer more opportunities for Lao officials to participate in lesson-sharing visits to Zhejiang.
During their visit, PM Sonexay and his entourage toured the operations of the Alibaba Group, the leading platform for global wholesale trade.
In Shanghai on November 10, a meeting between the Lao premier and the city’s Mayor Gong Zheng resulted in plans to explore more opportunities in areas of potential, leveraging the Laos-China railway and direct flights between Laos and Shanghai.
Talks touched on ways to boost trade, investment, tourism and more. The leaders also agreed to work together to enable the Shanghai Wan Feng Group, the developer of the That Luang marsh specific economic zone in Vientiane, to bring the mega project to completion.
During talks with the two cities’ authorities, each side briefed the other on the overall socio-economic situation of their city and country.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update November 13, 2024)