Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Vu Huy Hoang, told Lao Prime Minister Buasone Bouphavanh in Vientiane on March 13 that the agreement would be signed during his visit to Laos on March 13-14.

Receiving the Vietnamese Minister on March 13, Prime Minister Buasone Bouphavanh said that the Lao Government and relevant agencies would create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to implement investment projects in Laos.

Laos’ industry, trade, mining and energy sectors are the main contributors to the high investment and cooperation rates between the two countries. Solving a number of long-standing problems that hinder cooperation projects between those sectors would contribute to improving the cooperation between the two countries.

The Lao PM and his guests exchanged views on the implementation of Vietnamese electricity projects in Laos and assigned the Lao Energy and Mining Ministry to collate investors’ opinions on the subject, which will then be submitted to the PM.

He thanked the Vietnamese Government for its pledge to support Laos’ accession to the WTO.

Minister Vu Huy Hoang reported to the PM that his ministry also plans to sign with Laos’ Ministry of Energy and Mining a memorandum of understanding regarding increased cooperation between the two countries in this field.

The two sides will review the implementation of cooperation programmes and draw up plans for the future.

Hoang said he intends to discuss with the Lao side a previously-signed agreement, granting each other special preferences and recognition of goods originating in each country, as well as reviewing the implementation of current Vietnamese projects in Laos, including electricity projects.

They will discuss measures to increase trade turnover to 1 billion USD by 2010 and 2 billion USD by 2015, including the organization of a Vietnamese products fair in Lao this September.

Hoang said that Vietnamese investors in Laos have pledged to fulfill agreements with the Lao Government and asked Laos to supplement a number of policies to ensure that they are compatible with investment projects in the fields of science and technology./.