The governments of the Lao PDR and Hungary have agreed to enhance their existing bilateral relations and cooperation to a deeper level to improve cooperation in the new era.

The statement was made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó on the occasion of an official visit to Hungary by the Lao Foreign Minister on May 30-31.

The visit was response to an invitation of Minister Szijjártó to enhance the longstanding cooperation between the two countries.

The visit was made on the occasion of the celebration of the 55^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Laos and Hungary.

During the cordial talks, both sides agreed to further exchange working visits among leaders at all levels.

The two ministries will promote all relevant sectors of both sides to complete the preparation of documents for the cooperation agreement and loan agreements worth 160 million Euros to Laos by the end of 2017.

The money will be spent on the development of the agriculture sector, water management in Vientiane, and civil administration.

In addition, the two sides agreed to promote cooperation in the fields of economic trade, investment, energy, education, science and technology, agriculture, and the processing industry.

During the visit, Minister Saleumxay and his delegation paid a courtesy visit to Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary István Jakab, where both sides highly valued the relations and cooperation between Laos and Hungary over the past, especially the increased exchange of visits by high-ranking officials between the two assemblies.

On behalf of the people and the Lao government, Minister Saleumxay expressed thanks to the government and people of Hungary for their great assistance to Laos over the past year, especially in terms of human resource development and providing loans amounting to US$30 million.

He also requested the Hungarian side to further cooperate and assist Lao PDR in the fields of commercial agriculture development and husbandry and human resource development by providing scholarships and short-term training courses in Hungary.

The Hungarian side confirmed to future cooperation in the education sector by proving 50 scholarships annually to Lao nationals.

Additionally, both sides agreed to hold technical meetings for exchanging lessons between the two ministries of Foreign Affairs every year.

They will also prepare for the celebration of the 55^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Laos and Hungary, which is expected to be held this September.