The 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus and Laos

On February 7, 1994 the Republic of Belarus and the Lao People's Democratic Republic established diplomatic relations.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, on February 7, 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Sergei Aleinik, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Saleumxay Kommasith, exchanged the Letters of congratulations.

Belarus and Laos have maintained friendly relations since the days of the USSR. Despite the geographical distance, differences in culture, customs and language, as well as ongoing global and regional changes, the relations between our countries have got stronger.

The interaction between the states received a significant impetus in the 2010s through the exchange of visits by the Foreign Ministers. In July, 2013, the President of Laos, Choummaly Sayasone, made an official visit to Belarus.

The current President of the Lao PDR, Thongloun Sisoulith, as the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, paid two official visits to Minsk. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Sergei Martynov and Vladimir Makei, were in Vientiane (Laos) in 2012 and 2014.

During the visits, a number of important documents were signed in various areas of bilateral cooperation, which made it possible to significantly expand the legal framework.  The necessary mechanisms of institutional interaction were lauched, incl. the Belarusian-Lao Intergovernmental Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation in February 2014, and the political consultations at the level of the Deputy Foreign Ministers in August 2015.

In January 2023, by the decision of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, a Laos-Belarus Friendship Society was established. Among its members there are the Vice-President of the Lao Women's Union, Thamma Phetvixay (chairwoman of the Society), heads of departments of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, and the Development Bank of Laos.

Belarus and Laos maintain regular high-level contacts, also at international platforms. The interaction of the two countries in the UN, ASEAN and other international organizations has a friendly and trustworthy character.

The economies of Belarus and Laos complement each other. The parties demonstrate readiness to convert the high level of political dialogue into increased interaction in trade, economic, cultural, scientific, and educational spheres.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Ministry of Communication and Informatization of the Republic of Belarus, the publishing center Marka of the Republican Unitary Enterprise Belpochta, and the Embassy of Belarus in Vietnam have jointly prepared a commemorative postal project.

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