Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 2 -- Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Cuong

In an interview ahead of the visit, Deputy Minister Nguyen said that the Party chief's decision to choose Laos as the first country to visit in his new term carries profound political significance.

It is the first State-level visit to Laos after the neighboring country successfully organized its 12th National Party Congress, and comes just over one week after Viet Nam welcomed General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith as the first foreign leader to visit Viet Nam following success of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam. This vividly demonstrates Viet Nam's consistent policy of attaching special importance and top pr...