Laos President visit to Belarus scheduled for mid-2013

       An official visit of the President of Laos to Belarus has been scheduled for mid-2013, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik told media. The official said the visit would allow expanding Belarus-Laos cooperation. The work to invigorate the dialogue between the two countries continued in 2012. In June 2012 an official visit of the Belarusian Foreign Minister to Laos took place. Sergei Aleinik pointed out the rapid advance of Belarus-Laos cooperation as well as Belarus’ interaction with other Southeastern Asia countries. For example, this year has seen a considerable increase in contacts with Myanmar thanks to the visit of the Belarus Prime Minister to Myanmar in December 2011. A national exhibition of Belarus at the international expo in Yangon is scheduled for December 2012. It will allow Myanmar customers to get familiar with a wide range of Belarus-made products. In February-September 2012 delegations of the Belarusian state concern Belenergo, the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry, the Industry Ministry, Belorusneft, and the Trade Ministry visited Myanmar. In turn, the Energy Minister of Myanmar visited Belarus in addition to several delegations of business circles and representatives of regional authorities. The visits determined measures to further step up cooperation in various areas.