Laotian Prime Minister Visits Malaysia  

   KUALA LUMPUR (Aug. 10) XINHUA - Laotian Prime Minister 
Sisavath Keobounphanh arrived here Monday for a three-day 
official visit to  Malaysia.
   Keobounphanh's visit here is the first by a Laotian head 
of government  since Laos joined the Association of 
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) a  year ago, which also 
groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the  
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
   Keobounphanh is scheduled to hold talks with his 
Malaysian counterpart  Mahathir Mohamad on bilateral, 
regional and international issues.
   The regional financial and economic crisis as well as 
joint efforts to  overcome the problems are also expected 
to feature prominently in the  discussions between the two 
prime ministers, according to a statement  by the Foreign 
Ministry here.
   During Keobounphanh's visit, the two countries are 
expected to sign two agreements on bilateral trade and 
tourism cooperation.
   

Malaysia Pledges to Assist Laos in Nation Building  

   KUALA LUMPUR (Aug. 10) XINHUA - Malaysian Prime Minister 
Mahathir  Mohamad Monday pledged to assist Laos in its 
nation-building efforts.
   "In the spirit of ASEAN and South-South cooperation, 
Malaysia is ever  willing to share our development 
experience and technical know-how to  assist Laos in its 
nation-building efforts," he said at a dinner he  hosted in 
honor of visiting Laotian Prime Minister Sisavath 
Keobounphan  here Monday night.
   The Laotian prime minister arrived here earlier Monday 
for a three-day  official visit to Malaysia, the first to 
Malaysia as the prime minister  of the Lao People's 
Democratic Republic.
   Mahathir, who visited Laos in 1994, said Sisavath's trip 
bore testimony  to the mutual desire of the two governments 
to further strengthen  relations between the two countries.
   Mahathir expressed the confidence that the coming years 
would see ties  between Malaysia and Laos becoming more 
substantive especially in trade  and economic cooperation 
with Laos being a fellow member of the  Association of 
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Malaysia is a  
founding member.
   He said the deepening bilateral relations between 
Malaysia and Laos are  evident by the fact that the two 
countries had signed a number of  agreements including the 
Bilateral Investment Guarantee Agreement, Air  Services 
Agreement, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation  
Agreement and Bilateral Payments Arrangement and a 
Memorandum of  Understanding on Energy Cooperation.
   He said the signing of the Bilateral Trade Agreement and 
the Tourism  Cooperation Agreement Tuesday would provide an 
additional impetus to  uplift the bilateral economic and 
trade relations between the two  countries.
   Noting that the bilateral relationship is on the right 
course, Mahathir  said he was convinced that there is ample 
scope for expansion given the  enormous potentials and 
items available for trading purposes in both  countries.
   Mahathir said Malaysia is pleased to observe that since 
its admission  into ASEAN in July 1997, Laos has 
participated enthusiastically in  ASEAN activities and made 
constructive proposals for enhancing  intra-ASEAN 
cooperation.
   Mahathir also said Malaysia and Laos share almost 
identical views on  many international issues of common 
concern and have sought to make  constructive contributions 
through their participation in many  international 
organizations including the United Nations and the  Non-
Aligned Movement.
   Mahathir and his Laotian counterpart are to meet Tuesday 
to discuss and exchange views on various bilateral, 
regional and international issues  and identify new areas 
where the two countries can cooperate to enhance  their 
relationship in the years ahead.