In an interview ahead of the exchange, Senior Colonel Nguyen Thanh Hai, Deputy Head of the Department of Political Affairs of the Vietnam Border Guard Command, emphasized the two forces’ cooperation outcomes, the meaning of the exchange and future activities to promote the ties.
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Sr. Col. Nguyen Thanh Hai (eighth from right) and Col. Ulkham Sivenvongsak, Deputy Head of the Department of Border Guard under the General Staff of the Lao People’s Army (seventh from left), and other delegates exchange on the sidelines of the second talks between Vietnamese and Lao young border officers, 2023 |
According to Col. Hai, over the past time, Vietnamese and Lao young officers have promoted pioneer role, creativity and aspiration for devotion. They have deepened the close ties between units of the two sides, been determined to preserve and enhance the special friendship between Vietnam and Laos, making contribution to building an exemplary Vietnam-Laos border of peace, friendship, win-win cooperation for happiness and prosperity of the people of the two neighboring countries.
He highlighted the two sides’ acceleration of dissemination and education about the special relations and faithfulness of Vietnam and Laos, the friendship and solidarity between the two parties, states and peoples built by President Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam and Presidents Kaysone Phomvihane and Souphanouvong of Laos.
Attentively, young officers of the Vietnam Border Guard Command and Lao security and police force have actively prevented cross-border crimes. Vietnamese young officers have pro-actively collaborated with Laos’ border and border gate management and protection force, given suggestions to local authorities to strengthen and expand twinning ties of Vietnamese and Lao villages.
So far, there have been 106 twinned village pairs along the Vietnam-Laos border and the twinning between border posts and police stations garrisoned on both sides of the shared border has been enhanced.
Moreover, Vietnamese border guard units have presented gifts and provided support to Lao border protection forces with a total value of nearly VND 9 billion. Vietnamese units have sponsored 73 disadvantaged Lao students with VND 500,000 each per month.
Regarding the aforementioned exchange, Col. Hai informed that there will be a series of activities during the five-day event, including friendship tree planting, law dissemination, scholarship granting, sport and cultural exchanges, seminar, photo exhibition, and visits to cultural and tourist attractions.
Through this exchange, both sides’ young officers would be more aware of the friendship and solidarity between the two parties, states, border and border gate management and protection forces, thus boosting political trust, practical cooperation, and linkage.
According to the border officer, the exchange is also a good opportunity for participants to exchange experience in managing and protecting border, border gates, preventing drug-related crimes, transnational terrorists, human-trafficking, and cooperating in disease and disaster prevention and control.
To enhance the two sides’ relations and collaboration in the coming time, Sr. Col. Hai emphasized the need to raise troops’ awareness of the two countries and two forces’ senior leaders’ views and common perceptions, the importance of the special friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two nations, especially the key role of defense, security cooperation and external affairs.
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Friendship tree planting at the second Vietnam-Laos Young Border Officer Exchange, 2023 |
In addition, the staff role of young officers must be promoted while enhancement should be seen in information, situation, experience exchange, expertise training courses, and cultural, sports, and artistic exchanges. Furthermore, the two sides should increase dissemination sessions for border people so that they would comply with law, legal documents on border and related agreements and contribute to protecting border paths, border markers, and other structures in border areas.
Col. Hai expressed his belief that young officers of the two countries would tighten their close-knit relationship, boost close and regular coordination, effectively perform their duties, contributing to the two countries’ good defense and security relations and the building of Vietnam-Laos peaceful border.
Source: baobienphong
Translated by Mai Huong