Vientiane (Laos), Oct 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Laos counterpart Sonexay Siphandone on Friday held productive talks on further strengthening India-Laos “civilisational and contemporary ties” as they discussed cooperation in defence, renewable energy and other key sectors.
Modi arrived in Vientiane on Thursday to attend the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit on October 10-11 in Lao PDR, the current chair of the 10-nation grouping.
On Friday, he also met the President of Lao PDR Thongloun Sisoulith, and the two leaders discussed bilateral ties and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen the close partnership.
Modi also invited the president to visit India, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Jaideep Mazumdar said this at a briefing here.
Modi visited Laos at the invitation of Prime Minister Siphandone and attended ASEAN-India and East Asia summits to further deepen engagement with countries in the groupings.
Modi also congratulated the Laos PM on successfully hosting the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and 19th East Asia Summit.
“Imparting new momentum to India-Laos partnership. PM @narendramodi and PM Sonexay Siphandone of Lao PDR held productive discussions aimed at further strengthening India-Laos ties, including in key sectors of cooperation such as heritage conservation & restoration, development partnership, capacity building, economic, defence, culture and people-to-people ties,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.
The two leaders also held productive talks on further strengthening India-Laos civilisational and contemporary ties. They discussed various areas of bilateral cooperation such as development partnership, capacity building, disaster management, renewable energy, heritage restoration, economic ties, defence collaboration, and people-to-people ties, the MEA said in a statement.
Prime Minister Siphandone thanked Modi’s flood relief assistance provided to Lao PDR in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi.
The two leaders noted that the ongoing restoration and conservation of Vat Phou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, under Indian assistance by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) imparts a special dimension to bilateral ties, the statement said.
Modi and Siphandone also expressed satisfaction at the close cooperation between the countries in regional and multilateral fora.
Prime Minister Siphandone reaffirmed India’s role on the international stage. India has strongly supported Lao PDR’s chairmanship of ASEAN for 2024, the statement said.
Following the talks, MoUs/agreements in the fields of defence, broadcasting, customs cooperation, and three Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation were exchanged in the presence of the two leaders.
The QIPs relate to the preservation of the heritage of Lao Ramayan, the restoration of Wat Pakea Buddhist temple with murals related to Ramayan, and support to shadow puppetry theatre on Ramayan in Champasak province.
All three QIPs have a Government of India grant assistance of about USD 50,000 each, the statement said.
India will also provide a grant assistance of about USD 1 million to improve nutrition security in Lao PDR. This assistance through the India UN Development Partnership Fund will be the fund’s first such project in South-East Asia.
In another statement, the MEA said Modi met Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Central Committee of Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Lao PDR in Vientiane today.
“The two leaders discussed bilateral ties and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen the close partnership. They noted that India-Laos contemporary partnership was deeply rooted in age-old civilizational bonds,” the statement said.
They expressed satisfaction at the ongoing collaboration between the two countries in the fields of development partnership, heritage restoration and cultural exchanges.
Highlighting that 2024 marks a decade of India’s Act East Policy, Prime Minister Modi noted its salience in adding further momentum to India’s engagement with Laos. While referring to civilizational ties between the two countries, Modi called for strengthening people-to-people ties through the opportunities presented by the new Nalanda University, the MEA said.
Modi thanked President Sisoulith for the support extended by Laos to strengthen the India-ASEAN ties. The two leaders also discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest, it added.
In 2018, he had visited India as the then-prime minister of Lao PDR, and met with Prime Minister Modi. Modi invited him to visit again, Mazumdar said.
Modi during his meeting with Laos President Sisoulith conveyed his commitment to further deepen the close partnership between the two countries. (PTI)
