Vietnam and Laos signed a cooperation agreement on continuing thesearch for and retrieval of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and expertswho lost their lives during the war in Laos.

The document, the 20 th of its kind, was signed by Deputy Minister ofDefence Nguyen Thanh Cung, who is also Head of the Government’s SpecialTask Board, and his Laotian counterpart Chansamon Chanyalath at aconference in southern Champasak province on May 28.

During the event, Cung suggested the two nations intensify joint efforts during the 2015-2016 dry season.

According to the Special Task Board, the remains of Vietnamesemartyrs are still scattered across Laos, with the majority lying inVientiane, Xieng khouang and Savanakhet, among others.

A number of awareness raising campaigns have been organised in thetwo countries to garner support from communities and veterans.

Remains of 212 fallen volunteer soldiers have been found in Laos inthe 2014-2015 dry season, of which nine were identified.

Millions of Vietnamese sacrificed their lives for national liberationduring the two wars of resistance against French and US forces, as wellas during international missions in Laos and Cambodia.

Missions to find and repatriate theremains of these fallen soldiers are conducted annually, receiving dueattention from the Party and the State.

SinceMay 13, the central provinces of Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Ha Tinh haveorganised reburial ceremonies for the remains of the fallen soldiers andexperts repatriated from Laos.-VNA