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State backs energy, mine exploration co-operation
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung on Wednesday said that the Vietnamese Government would continue to support the co-operation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mining.
He made this statement while receiving the Lao Minister of Energy and Mining, Soulivong Daravong.
Hung said that the government would create favourable conditions for the two countries' enterprises to invest in each other's markets.
Hung emphasised that the two countries support each other in not only boosting economic development, but also ensuring national defence and security, especially in border areas.
Minister Soulivong Daravong said that despite the difficulties of the global economic crisis last year, Vietnamese enterprises still tried to effectively implement their projects in Laos in the fields of energy, minerals and oil.
He expressed his confidence that the co-operation between the two countries in these fields would further develop in the future.
Earlier yesterday, the Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade, Vu Huy Hoang, and Minister Daravong reached agreements on boosting co-operation on energy and mine exploration.
The two sides showed their pleasure in the progress made in the negotiations on Sekaman1 Hydro-electricity Project and said that they would continue co-operation to boost the effective implementation of hydro-electricity projects.
They agreed to check on the feasibility and implementation of hydro-electricity projects in Laos, which plan to sell electricity to Viet Nam.
The two sides also agreed that they would submit a proposal to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for technical and financial assistance to set up a 500-kV Laos-Viet Nam power transmission line to improve effectiveness in trading electricity between the two countries.
They highly appreciated the support of Electricity of Viet Nam and Viet Nam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) for training experts from Laos, and said that the two countries would boost experience exchanges in this field.
Minister Hoang highly valued the fact that the Lao Government had created favourable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to implement mining and oil exploration projects in Laos.
The two sides agreed to boost their co-operation to solve any problems that emerged during the implementation of these plans.
On the same day, Minister Daravong spent some time with the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).
The General Director of PVN, Phung Dinh Thuc, suggested that Laos should soon ratify the Luang Prabang Hydro-electricity Project after some changes were made as well as widen the area of exploration in Champasak-Saravan and Savanakhet of Laos.
Thuc also asked for Laos's assistance in PVN's land clearance and mine and bomb clearance and suggested that Laos prioritise Petro Vietnam's investment projects.
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