The southwestern Chinese city of Kunming and northern Laos's city of Luang Prabang Friday signed a letter of intent to forge sisterhood ties at a video signing ceremony.
The two sides agreed to continue strengthening friendly exchanges and cooperation to establish a formal sister-city relationship under the principle of equality and mutual benefit.
"Kunming and Luang Prabang city are very similar and highly complementary, with broad prospects for cooperation," said Li Zhigong, the Chinese consul general in Luang Prabang. Li added that the opening of the China-Laos railway at the end of this year would serve as an excellent opportunity for the two cities.
Khamkhan Chanthavisouk, governor of Luang Prabang province, expressed his gratitude for the assistance Kunming provided during the COVID-19 pandemic in his video speech. He added that the signing of the letter of intent marks a new milestone for the development of the two cities' friendship.
Cheng Lianyuan, secretary of the Kunming Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, suggested the two cities promote cooperation in production capacity and international logistics and expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Laos. So far, Kunming has developed or established sister-city relations with 46 foreign cities.