Thailand and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic have agreed to cooperate more closely in three major areas, namely (1) border security, (2) economic promotion to upgrade the people’s quality of life in the two countries, and (3) people-to-people contact.

Mr. Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of the Lao PDR, paid an official visit to Thailand on 20 February 2025, marking the start of the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and the Lao PDR.

During their meeting, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the Prime Minister of the Lao PDR agreed to step up efforts to fight illicit drugs and support the development of alternative crops to replace the cultivation of plants containing narcotics.

Both sides will work more closely to crack down on online scams, human trafficking, and other issues in order to strengthen border security. Concerning transboundary haze pollution, Thailand proposed that the two countries link their databases and early warning systems to increase their efficiency in tackling this problem.

Thailand and the Lao PDR agreed to achieve a US$11,000 million bilateral trade target by 2027. Prime Minister Paetongtarn thanked the Lao PDR for facilitating the transportation of Thai agricultural products to China. The meeting noted that the fifth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge will be opened later this year.

The two countries agreed to work out logistics development strategies jointly and to support various construction projects, such as the connection of the Thai-Lao railway with the Laos-China railway. Both sides will also promote joint ventures between the private sectors of the two countries for transport and logistics management in the region.

Thailand and Laos will organize activities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations throughout the year. Thailand agreed to provide 75 scholarships to help develop human resources of the Lao PDR and would continue to support Laos in public health and medical personnel development.

On this occasion, the two leaders witnessed the signing of the following documents:

1) Plan of Action for 2025-2027 to Implement the Memorandum of Understanding on Justice and Legal Affairs Cooperation between the Ministry of Justice of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Thailand;

2) Technical Arrangement on Rail Passenger Transportation between the State Railway of Thailand and the Lao National Railway State Enterprise;

3) Memorandum of Understanding on Academic Cooperation between Mae Fah Luang University of the Kingdom of Thailand and Souphanouvong University of the Lao People's Democratic Republic; 

4) Memorandum of Understanding between the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry, and Banking of Thailand and the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.