Vietnam’s northern central province of Quang Tri and its neighbouring province of Salavan, southern Laos, have agreed to a series of cooperation programmes through 2010.
The meeting of minds was conveyed in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the two provinces’ authorities during a recent visit to Salavan by a delegation headed by Le Huu Phuc, Secretary of Quang Tri Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council.
Under the MoU, the two sides agreed to continue exchanges of visits by the two provinces’ delegations, enhance cooperation in investment, trade and tourism, give priorities to socio-economic development for border areas, provide mutual assistance to build village clusters in border areas, and cooperate in the fight against cross-border drugs trade and the trafficking of women and children.
The two sides also agreed to work together to solve issues arising along their common borderline.
Salavan authorities said that the province will ask the Lao government to build-up the shared border, set up international border gates with Quang Tri and establish an international economic zone in the five coming years.
Meanwhile, Quang Tri briefed its Lao counterpart on the Vietnamese government’s decision to carry out a project on construction of a road to the Lalay border gate connecting with Laos at an investment of 70 billion VND (3.92 million USD).
Quang Tri province provided Salavan province with 1.5 billion VND to carry out a project on construction of infrastructure for border village clusters./.