VIENTIANE, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The governments of Laos and Slovakia have signed an agreement aimed at boosting bilateral business relations and finance cooperation between the two countries, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Wednesday.
This comes after an official working visit to Laos by a delegation of senior government officials of the Slovak Republic led by the Minister of Finance, Peter Kazimir.
The official visit of a Slovakian delegation from Monday to Thursday for the Laos-Slovak Business Forum aims to enhance friendship and boost economic ties.
As part of its bilateral cooperation efforts, the Lao Ministry of Finance has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on financial cooperation with the Export-Import Bank of Slovakia. This move will support the future financial and business ties between the two sides for both the public and private sectors.
Tthe EXIM Bank Slovakia will assure the risk management of loans, support export credits, and provide trade-related aid. Slovak banks will also open up their loan facilities to Lao nationals.
The signed document also refers to several important cooperation deals that the two sides will continue to strictly monitor. The implementation of the agreements will come into effect on the first day of next month.
In terms of trade volume, Laos exported beverages to Slovakia worth over 4.39 million U.S. dollars in 2016 but there was no record of any goods imported during the same year.
In the first nine months of 2017, most products imported from Slovakia to Laos were vehicle parts totalling just over 12,000 U.S. dollars, according to a recent report from Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
