Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic will pay an official visit to Thailand this Thursday to strengthen bilateral ties and discuss mutual challenges, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This will be Sonexay’s first visit to Thailand and marks the 75th anniversary of Thai-Lao diplomatic relations.
During his visit, Sonexay and his spouse will have an audience with Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand.
He will hold a bilateral meeting with his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, at Government House. Their discussions will cover a broad range of cooperation, including economic ties, connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges.
A particular focus will be on addressing common challenges, including narcotics, online scams, human trafficking, PM2.5 pollution, and shared water resource management.
On Sunday, Sonexay is also scheduled to open the Thai-Lao Business Forum in Bangkok.
During former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s trip to Vientiane, both sides pledged to achieve a bilateral trade target of US$11 billion by 2025.
They adopted several measures, such as improving trade facilitation, expanding cross-border networks of SMEs, and promoting economic activities between border provinces of both countries.
Both sides also agreed to expedite the construction of a new railway bridge over the Mekong River at the Nong Khai–Vientiane border crossing, aiming to begin work as early as 2026 to support cross-border rail freight growth between Thailand, Laos, and China.
