Day: April 3, 2023

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and VASCO Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO) will supply nearly domestic 2,800 flights with 551,000 seats from April 26 to May 5 to meet the rising travel demands during the Hung Kings Commemoration Day (April 29), Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) holidays.

The added flights bring passengers to popular tourist destinations such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Da Nang, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Da Lat, and Phu Quoc.

With recovered international network of more than 50 routes, Vietnam Airlines is also ready to serve outbound tourists during the holidays.

According to Vietnam Airlines, many flights during the holidays have been fully booked.

Passengers are advised to buy tickets on the airlines’ official websites, mobile apps, ticket offices and agents, while using auto check-in, mobile check-in and telephone check-in services, or checking in through their websites or at check-in kiosks at airports to save time.

Workers will have a five-day break from April 29 to May 3 this year as Hung Kings Commemoration Day, which takes place on the 10th day of the third lunar month, falls on April 29 and is immediately followed by Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1). As April 29 and April 30 are Saturday and Sunday, so May 2 and 3 will be added.

Source: Lao News Agency

Phia Wat Secondary School, newly built with a grant support of 97.4 million yuan from China, was handed over to Lao authorities on Mar 30 in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith and Chinese Ambassador to Laos Jiang Zai Dong, teachers and students of the school.

At the ceremony, Secretary of the Communist Party of China Committee of Yunnan Province Mr Wang Ning presented the key of the school to Mayor of Vientiane Mr Atsaphangthong Siphandone.

This school construction project is among 10 development projects approved by top leaders of Laos and China in 2016.

It is also a priority project of human resource development of the Lao PDR.

The school has 50 rooms including a chemistry room, a physics room, a biology room, a natural science lab, a computer room, a Chinese language room, two libraries, and a meeting room. It can accommodate over 1,400 students.

Addressing remarks at the ceremony, Vientiane Mayor Mr Atsaphangthong Siphandone expressed thanks to the Party, government and people of China for providing support and assistance to the Lao PDR over the past years and appreciated all relevant sectors in Laos and China for their contribution to making the school construction project a success.

Source: Lao News Agency

China’s central bank injected funds into the financial system through open market operations on Monday.

The People’s Bank of China said on its website that it has conducted 2 billion yuan (about 290.68 million U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 2 percent.

The move is aimed at keeping liquidity reasonable and ample in the banking system, according to the central bank.

Source: Lao News Agency

Yangguang Jiarun (Laos) Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., the Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Laos, and the South Subtropical Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences signed on Mar 31 an International Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on tropical agricultural science & technology.

The signing ceremony was attended by some of the most important officials from both China and Laos, including General Manager of Yangguang Jiarun Xie Fei, Director of the South Subtropical Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Du Liqing, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Laos Phommasoulin Vanthieng.

Vice Governor of China’s Sichuan Province Yang Xingping, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of China in the Lao PDR Zhao Wenyu, President of CCPIT Sichuan Huang Li, Vice Minister of Planning and Investment of Laos Khamchanh Vongsaenboun, Vice President of Laos-China Cooperation Committee Saysana Sitthiphone, and Vice Minister of Industry and Commerce of Laos Manothong Vongsay witnessed the signing ceremony of the MoU.

Under the framework of the MoU, all involved parties will collaborate with enthusiasm in response to the Chinese “Belt and Road” initiative; establish a strong partnership to deepen cooperation on agricultural science and technology, with the aim to accelerate the application of research on the entire tropical agricultural industry chain thus promoting a new pattern of international agricultural cooperation between Laos and China.

In addition, leveraging the Yangguang Jiarun (Laos) Eco-Agricultural Industry Project, all the parties will facilitate the establishment of a national agricultural demonstration base, a tropical crop germplasm resource library, tropical agricultural scientific research and experimental projects, an agricultural training centre in Laos, and applicable planting standards and guidelines for agricultural products. This will enable a cross-field approach, intensify cooperation, and validate the outcomes.

All parties will also persistently promote the modernization of agriculture in both countries; focus on crucial tasks, such as making significant progress in key agricultural technologies, cultivating talented personnel, and facilitating application implementation; help more research and development talents, strengthen the sense of community between the two countries, and establish modern agricultural development hubs, covering technology, talent, industry, and trade fields; utilize Chinese intelligence to enhance the agricultural development of both countries; and facilitate the coordination and integration of regional economic and ecological environment protection.

In the future, all parties will proactively share resources and technologies in comprehensive cooperation to facilitate flexible communication and collaboration among experts, leading to a rapid growth of agricultural development and stable growth of ecological, economic, and social benefits, while consolidating the friendship between the two countries.

Source: Lao News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith met with Secretary of the Communist Party of China Committee of China’s Yunnan Province, Mr Wang Ning, in Vientiane on Mar 30.

Both sides highly valued the longstanding relations and comprehensive, strong and long-lasting strategic partnership based on the four-good principle and Laos-China community of a shared future which has increasingly been promoted.

Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in various areas to reap greater achievements.

They also focused their discussion on future cooperation on infrastructure development, fulfilling planned tasks of the Laos-China highway, tourism, immigration facilitation, rail transport, and the opening of Laos-China cross-border train between Vientiane and Kunming.

Both sides agreed to launch the first cross-border train between Vientiane of Laos and Kunming of China’s Yunnan on Apr 13 and host a welcome ceremony for Chinese tourists on the Lao side.

They also discussed cooperation on agricultural production for export to China, mining, Chinese investment in Laos, education, energy and visit exchange.

Mr Wang Ning affirmed his commitment to urge relevant sectors of the two countries to better work together to implement in an effective manner agreements reached by senior leaders of the two countries thus bringing optimal benefits to the two peoples and prosperity to Laos and China.

Source: Lao News Agency