ＣＰＡＦＦＣ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｉｎ Ｌａｏｓ ａｎｄ Ｔｈａｉｌａｎｄ

Invited by the Lao-Chinese Friendship Association (LCFA) and the Thai-Chinese Culture and Economy Association (TCCEA)， a CPAFFC delegation led by its vice president Chen Yongchang paid a good-will visit to Laos and Thailand from November 11 to 21， 2003.

I

During its stay in Laos from November 12 to 17， Sisavath Keobounphan， member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and central chairman of the Nation-Building Front， and Vilayvanh Phomkhe， vice minister of the Commission for External Relations of the Central Committee of LPRP， met with the delegation. Xaysomphone Phomvihane， president of the LCFA， and Bounheuang Douangphachanh， secretary general of the LPRP Provincial Committee and governor of Luangprabang， met with and entertained the delegation.

When meeting with the delegation Sisavath Keobounphan said， Laos and China are socialist countries and close friends. There is a long history of relations between our two countries， two Parties and two peoples. Our two peoples have always sympathized with and supported each other from the revolutionary war period when they struggled to resist imperialism for their national independence to the period of construction of their countries. Both Laos and China are now in the period of reform and opening up. The achievements China has scored in reform and opening up have greatly encouraged the Laotian people who regard China's achievements as their own. Since 1986 when Laos adopted the policy of renovation and opening up and under the leadership of Kaysone Phomvihane to embark on a new road， Laos has enjoyed political stability and national unity. This has raised Laos' international standing and guaranteed its territorial integrity， economic growth and improvement of its people's livelihood. Laos has established diplomatic relations with 116 countries and foreign investments continue to pour in. Of course， Laos still faces some difficulties. The major ones are the shortage of funds and qualified personnel， which hinder further cooperation with foreign countries.

At his meeting with the delegation Vice Minister Vilayvanh Phomkhe thanked the Chinese side for organizing a cadre training programme for Laos and expressed his great appreciation of the Chinese companies that led the people in Laos' poorest provinces in the border area---Phongsaly and Louang Namtha---to grow tea and rubber respectively and made them rich. He said， Laos persists in taking economic development as the focus of its work to solve the problem of food and clothing for its people. Due to the lack of technical personnel， funds and experience， Laos， a country with rich natural resources， does not have any suitable products to export to China at present. He hoped that Laos would continue to receive assistance from China.

II

The delegation visited Thailand from November 17 to 20. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and First Vice President of the Senate Suchon Chaleekure met with the delegation and hosted a banquet in its honour on separate occasions. Interior Minister Wan Muhamad Noor Matha met with the delegation. The delegation held talks with the Thai-Chinese Culture and Economy Association， exchanging views fully on future exchanges and cooperation between the two organizations.

When meeting with the delegation， the Deputy Prime Minister said: \"I am always excited when I hear Chinese delegations coming to visit Thailand. I have very good relations with the Chinese leaders. The relationship between Thailand and China is that of kinship and fraternity. China always lends a helping hand whenever Thailand comes across difficulties.\" On Thailand's economic policy he said， Thailand's policy of recovering and invigorating the economy is composed of three major parts: the first is to bring the economy back to the 1997 level before the financial crisis， that is， the total value of GDP reaches 200 billion US dollars， a goal Thailand has achieved and surpassed; the second is to score high GDP growth so as to make Thai economy more competitive and develop human resources， high technology and small and medium-sized enterprises; and the third is to remove obstacles of development by combating drugs trafficking， corruption and poverty and restructuring the economy so as to turn Thailand's export-oriented economy into a comprehensive economic framework.

The Interior Minister thanked the CPAFFC for hosting several Thai governors' delegations. He said， the CPAFFC plays a unique and extensive role in promoting people-to-people friendship， strengthening cooperation between local governments and coordinating relations between different parties. In the future， the Interior Ministry will have even closer cooperation with the CPAFFC to promote the establishment of friendship-city/province relations and friendly cooperation and exchanges between localities of Thailand and China.

During his meeting with the delegation， Suchon Chaleekure， vice president of the Senate and the TCCEA， said that he would provide parliamentary assistance to the exchanges between the TCCEA and the CPAFFC. He invited the delegation to sit in on a Parliamentary meeting.

At the meeting with the TCCEA， the Thai side gave a briefing on their work. The TCCEA was founded in 1993 on the initiative of Gen. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to further promote cultural and economic links and cooperation and friendly contact between Thailand and China. Recently， they founded the BNU Thai-Chinese Cultural Education School not long ago in keeping with the development of bilateral relations. They hoped to strengthen cooperation with the CPAFFC in the future. Both sides expressed at the meeting that they should carry out more substantial exchanges to push China-Thailand friendly relations to develop in width and depth to benefit the two peoples.

During the visit， the delegation members were deeply touched by the friendly sentiments of the Thai people for the Chinese people and discovered: China-Thailand friendship has taken roots in the hearts of the people; what has taken place or is taking place in China has become the hot topics in Thailand; and Chinese has become a foreign language the Thai people love to learn. The Thai side showed great interest in the work of our Association. They held， the CPAFFC has a history of nearly 50 years and accumulated rich experience. It has friends all over the world and its role cannot be played by governmental organizations.