JCP chair receives new Lao ambassador

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on September 17 met with Soukthavone Keola, the ambassador of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to Japan, at the JCP head office.

Ambassador Keoka, who took the post in February, expressed his delight at the amicable relations between the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the JCP, and hoped that opportunities will continue for both parties to closely exchange opinions on various topics.

Referring to former Lao ambassador to Japan Thongsay Bodhisane's attendance at the JCP 22nd Congress in 2000 and Lao President Khamtay Siphandone's message to the 2002 World Conference against A and H Bombs, Shii emphasized that friendship and cooperation is further developing.

Keola and Shii discussed Laos's course to build socialism through the market economy, the economic situation in Laos, the political and economic situation in Japan, and international issues including the U.S. plan to attack Iraq. (end)