President Lee Jae-myung and Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith held a summit meeting at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 15th. The two leaders agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership and decided to establish a hotline and sign a police cooperation MOU to protect their citizens.
Presidential Office spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung announced that President Lee held a summit with President Thongloun, who is on an official visit to South Korea, to discuss ways to develop Korea-Laos relations and address major regional and international issues. The two leaders agreed to expand cooperation in broader and future-oriented fields such as infrastructure, key minerals, and climate change response.
The two leaders also signed the Korea-Laos Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and Extradition Treaty to combat transnational crimes such as online scams. An MOU on the dispatch of workers under the Employment Permit System was also renewed. Additionally, they agreed to establish a hotline between the South Korean Embassy in Laos and the Laotian Ministry of Public Security to protect their citizens, and to promptly sign the ‘Police Cooperation MOU’ under discussion between the two countries’ law enforcement agencies.
President Lee expressed hope that South Korean companies could participate in the Luang Prabang International Airport development project being pursued by Laos. He also anticipated that mutually beneficial projects, such as establishing a supply chain for key minerals like rare earth elements based on Laos’ abundant natural resources and Korean technology, would be actively promoted. The two leaders also promised close cooperation on regional and international issues, including the Korean Peninsula and Korea-ASEAN relations.