Vietnam, Laos ready for 2nd border defence friendship exchange

(KPL/VNA) Working delegations from the Defence Ministries of Vietnam and Laos on October 21 held a rehearsal for the second Vietnam-Laos Border Defence Friendship Exchange in Moc Chau district, the northern province of Son La, and Sop Bao district, Laos's Houaphanh province. Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien and his Lao counterpart Sen. Lt. Gen. Vongkham Phommakone inspected several sites where the programme's activities will be organised, including Long Sap Border Gate, Pahang Primary and Secondary School, Long Sap Broading Primary and Secondary School and Moc Chau District Administrative Centre. The two officials praised agencies and units that engage in preparation for the event. The friendship exchange will take place from October 22-23 in Moc Chau district and Sop Bao district. It will feature various activities in Vietnam's northern mountainous province of Son La, and Houaphanh Province of Laos. They include welcome ceremonies, tree planting, a joint exercise on cross -border crime combat, gift hand-over, a cross-border marathon, free health check-ups and medicine distribution, and art performances. The two sides will also hold talks and sign cooperation documents. As one of the key defence diplomacy events of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) this year, the exchange is hoped to contribute to maintaining peace, stability, and development in the region and the world. Source: Lao News Agency