Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith on Mar 2 received a courtesy call from outgoing Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Laos Office Yusuke Murakami as he has completed his two year tenure in Laos.

 At amicable talks, Minister Saleumxay highly valued the contributions Mr Yusuke has made to enhance the relations and cooperation between Laos and Japan, as well as the assistance from the Japanese government and people.

 The Minister highly appreciated the hard work the JICA Chief Representative has done over the past two years as he has contributed to implementing 38 grant projects worth JPY 10.5 billion (almost US$92 million) which have been important for socio-economic development in Laos.

 In reply, Mr Yusuke expressed gratitude to the minister and the government of Laos for their support and cooperation and for facilitating his performance at JICA and expressed his hope that the assistance and support from the Lao government would continue to be provided to JICA.