Vietnam, Laos unveils La Lay border gate
(VOV) - Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith cut the red ribbon, inaugurating the La Lay International Border Gate on June 25.
Lying on the borderline between Dakrong district in Vietnam’s Quang Tri province and Laos’ Salavan province, La Lay was upgraded to a main border gate in 1998.
Total import-export value via the gate has constantly increased in recent years from US$7.7 million in 2010 to US$63 million in 2013 and is expected to surpass US$100 million in 2015 and US$245 million in 2020.
At the inauguration ceremony, Deputy PM Minh stated that along the 2,000km border between Vietnam and Laos there are 8 pairs of international border gates which have contributed to promoting socio-economic development, maintaining security and national defence, and meeting the need for exchanges, including trade, between the two countries.
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The opening of the border gate pair is an important event, manifesting Vietnam-Laos ties of friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation and mutual trust between the two countries’ leaders and peoples, he said.
Minh emphasised that the gate will open new cooperative opportunities in trade, investment and tourism among Vietnam’s central provinces and Laos’ southern provinces and Thailand’s south-eastern provinces. It will also help attract investment from the two countries and abroad, and support development of the East-West Economic Corridor.
Currently Quang Tri has two international border gates – Lao Bao and La Lay. Under a project submitted to the Prime Minister for approval, La Lay will become the fourth-tier urban area before 2020 and third-tier urban area in 2025.
Besides Khe Sanh-Lao Bao urban areas taking shape, the province is developing another urban area in the west near Vietnam-Laos border, helping tighten friendship between Vietnam’s Quang Tri province and Laos’s Salavan and Savannakhet provinces.