Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith told Nikkei Asia in an interview on the sidelines of Nikkei’s Future of Asia conference in May this year that the Laos-China railway is a source of pride and sparks hopes of fueling economic growth. - Vientiane Times/ANN
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN): President Thongloun Sisoulith will lead a high-level Lao delegation attending the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, scheduled to take place in Beijing on Tuesday (Oct 17).
The scheduled attendance of the President is in response to an invitation from his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement.
The two-day forum will take the theme ‘High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Common Development and Prosperity’.
The leaders of Laos, an active participant in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), place great importance on the forum, which the country’s top leaders have attended on the previous two occasions it was organised.
In May 2017, then President Bounnhang Vorachit led a high-ranking Lao delegation attending the first forum, which explored the theme ‘Cooperation for Common Prosperity’.
Two years later, President Bounnhang delivered a speech at the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.
This year’s forum is the most important diplomatic event hosted by China this year, and the most significant celebration of the 10th anniversary of the BRI, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu told the Xinhua News Agency.
President Xi will attend the opening ceremony of the Forum and deliver a keynote speech.
Laos has reaped a number of notable benefits from the BRI, which was initiated by President Xi a decade ago.
The Laos-China railway, part of the BRI, which came into service in December 2021, has transformed landlocked Laos into a land-link country, bringing in more foreign tourists and investment, boosting trade and creating more jobs, business executives have observed.
Converging with the Laos-Thailand railway at the Thanaleng Dry Port in Vientiane, the Laos-China railway links Southeast Asia to China and Europe via the China-Europe rail network, according to the dry port’s Managing Director Sakhone Philangam.
President Thongloun told Nikkei Asia in an interview on the sidelines of Nikkei’s Future of Asia conference in May this year that the Laos-China railway is a source of pride and sparks hopes of fueling economic growth.
Other significant BRI projects include the Laos-China economic corridor being developed alongside the railway. In addition, an expressway is being built to link the Lao capital of Vientiane with the Chinese border. The first section of the highway connecting Vientiane and the tourist hotspot of Vangvieng opened a few years ago, boosting tourism and commerce.
Worldwide, by June 2023 China had signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with BRI partners, comprising more than 150 countries and 30 international organisations across five continents, according to Xinhua.
From 2013 to 2022, the cumulative value of imports and exports between China and BRI partner countries was US$19.1 trillion, with an average annual growth rate of 6.4 percent. Cumulative two-way investment between China and partner countries came in at US$380 billion during this period, including some US$240 billion from China. - Vientiane Times/ANN
