MELBOURNE, Mac 6 (NNN-AAP) – The leaders of Australia and Laos, today signed an agreement elevating bilateral ties to a comprehensive partnership.
Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, signed the agreement with his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandone, on the sidelines of a special summit between Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in Melbourne.
The two prime ministers are co-chairing the special summit marking 50 years since Australia became ASEAN’s first external dialogue partner.
Albanese said in a statement that, the Australia-Laos comprehensive partnership would drive greater collaboration on defence and law enforcement, trade and investment, education and environmental issues.
According to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), two-way trade between Australia and Laos was worth 607.2 million Australian dollars (395.8 million U.S. dollars) in 2022 – representing less than one percent of Australia’s 178 billion Australian dollars (116 billion U.S. dollars) worth of trade with the 10-member ASEAN bloc in 2022.
Albanese also announced today, three million Australian dollars (1.9 million U.S. dollars) in government funding for Monash University’s World Mosquito Programme, to assist with the elimination of dengue fever in Laos.– NNN-AAP
