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General Phan Van Giang (right) and former General Secretary and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith (Photo: nhandan.vn) |
At the meeting, the Vietnamese defense chief conveyed Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s regards and wishes to the host.
General Giang informed the host that the two countries and militaries have held a number of meaningful and practical activities in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Vietnam - Laos’ diplomatic relations and the 45 years of the signing of Vietnam - Laos’ Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 2022.
The Vietnamese senior officer also briefed the host on the major activities within his ongoing official visit to Laos, including the outcomes of his talks with the Lao counterpart General Chansamone Chanyalath and the success of the first-ever joint exercise on search and rescue of Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian militaries.
Through General Giang, Mr. Bounnhang Vorachith sent best regards and wishes to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and other Vietnamese leaders.
The host highly appreciated the wholehearted support that the Vietnam People’s Army has given to the Lao counterpart over the years. He voiced his hope that the great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation between two neighbors Vietnam and Laos will further thrive.
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During the courtesy visit on former General Secretary and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith |
On the afternoon the same day, General Giang and his entourage paid a working visit to Star Telecom Company whose brand is Unitel, a venture of the Military Industry-Telecoms Group (Viettel) and Lao Asia Telecom.
Lao Deputy Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Vongkham Phommakone and Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung joined the guest.
At the working session, CEO of Star Telecom Tran Trung Hung reported that the company is an example of Viettel Group’s most successful overseas investment projects. The company is generating the most jobs in Laos for over 27,000 laborers. In addition, it has actively supported the Government of Laos in digital transformation and e-government infrastructure building; and carried out various meaningful social activities.
In his speech, Defense Minister Giang applauded the company for its important contribution to telecommunications universalization in Laos, its Lao and Vietnamese staff for their solidarity, contributing to developing the solidarity between the two defense ministries and nations.
General Giang asked each Vietnamese cadre and employee to act according to the motto that each project makes an important contribution to enhancing the Vietnam – Laos’ special solidarity.
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Defense Minister Phan Van Giang and other delegates in a joint photo in Unitel |
The Vietnamese defense chief urged the company to promote solidarity, pay more attention to improving its employees’ living standards, focus on personnel development, improve its staff’s expertise, and take the lead in digital transformation in the host country, securing to be an example of the two countries’ economic cooperation and the two defense ministries’ partnership.
Also on September 15, General Giang inspected the progress of the building of an ethnic cultural school, a gift from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense to its counterpart. The construction of this school was jointly started in 2021 by Vietnam’s Army Corps 11 and Lavinaco 36 Company. It is expected to be completed in 2023 to boost the education for Lao ethnic minority children. So far, half of the work has been fulfilled.
On hearing a report on the scale and progress of the school-building project delivered by Commanding Officer of Army Corps 11 Major General Nguyen Quoc Dung, General Giang hailed the corps for overcoming all difficulties to ensure the high quality and progress of the project.
Reported by Ngoc Hung
Translated by Mai Huong