President Lee at Korea-Laos Summit: "Elevating Ties to a Comprehensive Partnership"

Lee Holds Summit with Laos President on the 15th
President Lee: "Korea Will Be a Partner in Achieving Laos' National Goals"

President Lee Jae-myung stated at the Korea-Laos summit on the 15th, "This year marks the 30th anniversary of the reestablishment of diplomatic ties between our two countries, and we have agreed to elevate our relationship to a comprehensive partnership."

President Lee made this announcement during an expanded summit meeting with Thongloun Sisoulith, President of Laos, who is on an official visit to Korea, at the Yongsan Presidential Office on this day. Earlier, at around 11 a.m., President Lee welcomed President Thongloun at the Presidential Office, followed by a small-scale summit attended only by a few key aides.

President Lee Jae-myung and Thongloun Sisoulith, President of Laos, shake hands ahead of a summit meeting at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 15th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

President Lee remarked, "Since Korea and Laos reestablished diplomatic relations in 1995, in just one generation, we have achieved remarkable progress in various fields such as trade, investment, and people-to-people exchanges." He added, "Bilateral trade has increased about twentyfold compared to the time of reestablishment, and the number of Korean citizens visiting Laos continues to grow. Last year, the number of mutual visits between the two countries reached an all-time high."

He continued, "From the perspective of Laos, Korea is its third-largest development cooperation partner and fifth-largest investor, while Laos is a very important partner in Korea-ASEAN and Korea-Mekong cooperation."

President Lee also stated, "With its abundant natural resources, Laos is also a key partner in building a core mineral supply chain." He added, "I am confident that under President Thongloun's leadership, Laos will successfully turn its geographical limitations as a landlocked country into new opportunities and achieve its national goal of developing into a logistics hub in the region."

He went on to say, "Throughout this process, Korea will stand as a reliable partner," expressing his hope that "by further expanding and developing our mutually beneficial and future-oriented cooperative relationship, we will be able to create tangible outcomes that can be felt by the people of both countries."

President Thongloun commented, "I expect that this opportunity will allow us to elevate our bilateral relationship to a comprehensive partnership." He also explained, "Laos is currently still classified as a Least Developed Country (LDC)." He added, "I ask for your continued interest and support going forward."