President Lee, Laos Leader Agree to Upgrade Ties to 'Comprehensive Partnership'

President Lee Jae-myung met with Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith on Thursday and expressed hope to "further develop mutually beneficial and future-oriented cooperative relations and create tangible outcomes that both nations' people can feel."

At the presidential office in Yongsan, Lee welcomed Thongloun and announced that the two countries agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to a "Comprehensive Partnership" on the 30th anniversary of re-establishing diplomatic ties this year.

"Korea and Laos have achieved remarkable progress in various fields including trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges in just one generation since re-establishing diplomatic ties in 1995," Lee said. "Korea is Laos's third-largest development cooperation partner and fifth-largest investor, while Laos is a very important partner for Korea-ASEAN and Korea-Mekong cooperation."

Lee emphasized that "Laos, with its abundant natural resources, is also an important partner for building critical mineral supply chains."

The president also expressed confidence that "under President Thongloun's leadership, Laos will successfully pursue its national goal of transforming its geographical limitations as a landlocked country into new opportunities and developing into a regional transportation and logistics hub."

"Korea will stand as a reliable partner in this process," Lee pledged.

Thongloun said this year marks "an opportunity to reaffirm the achievements both countries have made across various fields over the past 30 years" and expressed expectations to "upgrade bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Partnership through this occasion."

"Laos has not yet been able to graduate from Least Developed Country status," Thongloun said. "We ask for more interest and support going forward."