Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavad Lengsavath in Hanoi on August 27.

Lengsavath, who is also head of the Laos – Vietnam Cooperation Sub-committee, expressed his pleasure at attending the celebration of the 50 th anniversary of the Vietnam – Laos diplomatic ties in the northern province of Thai Nguyen, the revolutionary capital of Vietnam .

He said he believed that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people will continue recording new and greater achievements, successfully implementing the Resolution of the 11 th National Party Congress.

Trong spoke highly of the two Governments’ efforts in holding activities to celebrate the Vietnam – Laos Solidarity and Friendship Year 2012 as well as outcomes of the mid-term meeting of the Vietnam – Laos Inter-Governmental Committee recently held in Luang Prabang province.

He suggested the two countries’ cooperation sub-committees closely work with ministries and departments to effectively carry out signed agreements, especially paying due attention to progress and quality of bilateral cooperation projects.

At multilateral forums, the two sides need to increase the sharing of information, especially within the framework of the ASEAN and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms. They should also closely work to successfully host the ninth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM – 9) and the seventh Asia – Europe Parliamentary Partnership meeting (ASEP – 7) in Laos later this year, Trong said.