President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith held a summit on the sidelines of the 20th ASEAN-ROK Summit.
At this afternoon’s meeting, the Laotian Prime Minister said that he was pleased to meet President Moon again. He also expressed deep gratitude on behalf of the Laotian Government and people for support provided thus far by the Korean Government. In addition, he conveyed a message from the Laotian President inviting President Moon to visit Laos at the earliest possible date.
Moreover, the Laotian Prime Minister said that the Laotian people held in high regard and appreciated Korea’s various support in the wake of a dam collapse in Laos’s Attapeu Province in July. He went on to say that he was grateful to Korea-based SK E&C for rendering multi-faceted assistance during the restoration process.
The Prime Minister also expressed appreciation to President Moon for the assistance Korea has provided to Laos through various development cooperation projects, adding that he might run out of time were he to enumerate them all. Noting that Korea has made direct investments in about 250 projects in his country, the Prime Minister said that he was also grateful for that.
In response, President Moon said, "Laos is one of the key cooperation partners in the New Southern Policy, which the Korean Government is strongly pushing ahead with. I extend my appreciation to the Laotian President for the invitation. I very much want to visit Laos. I hope you too will be able to visit Korea at the earliest date possible."
President Moon explained about recent developments on the Korean Peninsula and expressed his gratitude for the Laotian Government showing its support for progress in inter-Korean relations and the easing of tension on the Korean Peninsula. The President also asked for continued support for the Korean Government’s efforts to establish peace on the Peninsula.
The Laotian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued statements of support for significant events that have promoted peace on the Korean Peninsula: March 23, on the current situation on the Korean Peninsula; April 30, on the outcome of the Inter-Korean Summit in Panmunjeom; June 13, on the United States-North Korea Summit; and September 24, on the Inter-Korean Summit in Pyeongyang.