DISCUSSIONS are underway between Myanmar and Laos to increase exports of Myanmar’s agricultural and aquatic prod­ucts to Laos, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

In these discussions aimed at boosting exports of Myan­mar’s agricultural and fishery products to Laos, preliminary talks have also been held be­tween the two countries on up­grading the Kenglap-Xieng Kok border bridge to the internation­al entry and exit crossing point status, to facilitate smoother and more convenient cross-border movement of goods and people. In addition, the two sides dis­cussed cooperation to further de­velop the Wampong-Ban Muang Mom border crossing along the Myanmar-Laos border.

At present, Myanmar ex­ports items such as furniture, footwear, textiles, rubber and tobacco to Laos, while importing vehicles, paper, steel and ma­chinery from Laos.

As Laos is the only land­locked country in South-East Asia and is located at the centre of the Indochina Peninsula, it has no seaports. The country has a total area of 236,800 square kilo­metres, and according to the lat­est data from the United Nations World Population Review, it has a population of approximately 7.6 million. — ASH/KZL