Vientiane, Oct 11 (IANS): Deepening further the close partnership between two countries, India and Laos signed seven agreements, including on defence cooperation, following the bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Laos PM Sonexay Siphandone in Vientiane on Friday.

Quite significantly, three Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) - all having an Indian grant assistance of about USD 50000 each - under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation were also exchanged. They relate to preservation of heritage of Lao Ramayan, restoration of Wat Pakea Buddhist temple with murals related to Ramayan, and support to shadow puppetry theatre on Ramayan in Champasak province.

Immediately after his arrival in Laos for the ASEAN Summits on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had witnessed an episode of Lao Ramayan - also called Phalak Phalam or Phra Lak Phra Ram - performed by the prestigious Royal Theatre of Luang Prabang. Ramayan continues to be celebrated in Laos, and the epic reflects the shared heritage and age-old civilization connection between the two countries.

During their productive talks on Friday, the two Prime Ministers discussed further strengthening India-Laos civilizational and contemporary ties, besides mentioning various areas of bilateral cooperation such as development partnership, capacity building, disaster management, renewable energy, heritage restoration, economic ties, defence collaboration, and people-to-people ties.

"Had a wonderful meeting with Mr. Sonexay Siphandone, the PM of Lao PDR. Commended the warmth and hospitality of the people of Lao PDR as the hosts of the ASEAN related summits. We want to further invigorate the development partnership between our nations, especially in areas like skills, energy, infrastructure, education and more," PM Modi posted on X after the meeting.

The Laos Prime Minister thanked PM Modi for India's flood relief assistance provided to the country in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi. The two leaders also noted that the ongoing restoration and conservation of Vat Phou, a UNESCO World

Heritage Site, under Indian assistance by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) imparts a special dimension to bilateral ties.

"The two Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction at the close cooperation between the countries in regional and multilateral fora. PM Siphandone reaffirmed India's role on the international stage. India has strongly supported Lao PDR's Chairmanship of ASEAN for 2024," read a statement from the PMO after the meeting.

Following the talks, Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements in the fields of defence, broadcasting, customs cooperation, and three Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation were exchanged in the presence of the two leaders.

India will also provide a grant assistance of about USD 1 million to improve nutrition security in Laos. The assistance through India UN Development Partnership Fund, will be the Fund's first such project in South-East Asia. The details of the MoUs, agreements, and announcements may be seen here.

Later, PM Modi met Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith, also the General Secretary of the Central Committee of Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), congratulating him for successfully hosting the ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit.

According to the PMO, the two leaders discussed bilateral ties and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen the close partnership. They noted that India-Laos contemporary partnership was deeply rooted in age-old civilizational bonds and expressed satisfaction at the ongoing collaboration between the two countries in the fields of development partnership, heritage restoration and cultural exchanges.

"Highlighting that 2024 marks a decade of India's Act East Policy, Prime Minister noted its salience in adding further momentum to India's engagement with Laos. While referring to civilizational ties between the two countries, the Prime Minister called for strengthening people-to-people ties through the opportunities presented by the new Nalanda University. President Sisoulith thanked the Prime Minister for India’s humanitarian assistance to Lao PDR in the wake of floods caused by Typhoon Yagi," read a statement from the PMO after the meeting.

As they discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest, ?Prime Minister Modi also thanked President Sisoulith for the support extended by Laos to strengthen India-ASEAN ties.