Laos To Host Joint Tank Division Drills With Russia In 2022 - Russian Defense Minister

KUBINKA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2022) Russia and Laos will hold joint counterterrorist tank division drills Laros-2022 in Laos, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday during the talks with his counterpart from the Asian country, Chansamone Chanyalath.

Shoigu expressed high appreciation of the successful Russian-Lao military cooperation, saying that the defense ministries of the two countries have a rich program full of military events "including the upcoming Russian-Lao military exercise Laros-2022, which will be held at the Lao training grounds," in which Russian armed forces are looking forward to participate.

Moscow values its friendship with Laos, its long-standing and reliable partner in Southeast Asia, which shares the views of Russia on many international issues, Shoigu added, suggesting exchange of views on topical issues of bilateral cooperation and thanking his Lao counterpart for participating in the international military-technical forum Army-2022 held in the Moscow region, the International Army Games and the Moscow Conference on International Security.

The Lao defense minister also expressed appreciation of his delegation for every meeting with the head of the Russian military department and other senior officials of the Russian Defense Ministry.

Laros, Russian-Lao joint military exercise, is aimed at combating international terrorism and promoting peacekeeping. The first-ever Laros drills were held in Laos in December 2019. In 2020, the exercise was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.