MEDIA

RELEASE A U S T R A L I A N E M B A S S Y

V I E N T I A N E

9 April 2014

Australia, Lao PDR and Thailand celebrate the first

friendship bridge’s 20th

birthday

On 8 April 1994, HE Nuhak Phumsawan, then President of Lao PDR, together with His

Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating

presided over the opening of the first-ever friendship bridge across the Mekong River

connecting the Lao PDR and Thailand. The bridge, funded by Australia, is an enduring symbol

of Australia’s commitment to its neighbourhood, and of the ties that bind the people of Lao

PDR, Thailand and Australia. This bridge has cultivated new friendships and closer networks

of cooperation across the Mekong and beyond.

To celebrate the anniversary, John Williams, Australia’s Ambassador to Lao PDR, and James

Wise, Australia’s Ambassador to Thailand, joined H.E. Soukan Mahalath, Mayor of Vientiane

Capital, and H.E. Mr Wirat Limsuwat, Governor of Nong Khai Province, for over four days of

events in Nong Khai and Vientiane.

On Saturday 5 April, Mayor Soukan and Governor Wirat opened a photo exhibition, “The

Vientiane–Nong Khai Relationship on the Mekong”, featuring 100 photos by photographers

from Lao PDR and Thailand who sought to capture on film the value of the bridge in

connecting people in the region, as well as the colour and beauty of the people and

landscapes along the Mekong.

That same day, officials opened the Thai–Lao Botanical Gardens at Nong Kom Ko Sub-

District, Muang District, Nong Khai, to commemorate the 60th

anniversary of Lao-Thai

bilateral relations.

On Sunday 6 April, Australian representatives participated in the Lao–Thai Friendship Bridge

20th Anniversary Cycling race – from Nong Khai across the bridge to Vientiane, and then

back to the bridge that afternoon. A 20th Lao–Thai Friendship Bridge Anniversary Golf

Challenge was also held at the Victory Park Golf and Country Club, Nong Khai. Nong Khai also

hosted a four-day trade fair featured booths with products from Laos, Thailand, Vietnam,

China and Australia.

The celebrations culminated in an evening of Lao, Thai and Australian cultural performances

on Saturday 5 April – on the river in Nong Khai. Over 600 people attended. Australian

saxophonist Matt Keegan joined Thai guest artists Pajone Peebung (drums) and Prasobchok

Duangmalai (bass), to perform a jazz piece Mr Keegan had composed especially for the

occasion, “The Bridge to Friends Suite”.

At the Saturday night ceremony, Ambassador Williams said the bridge, for the Lao PDR, had

been “a vital part of its strategy to transition from a land-locked to a land-linked country, to

help drive its economic development.”

“In this, the year Australia celebrates the 40th

anniversary of our relations with ASEAN, it’s

fitting we celebrate the important role of this Australian-built bridge for the region.”

Ambassador Williams said.

In 1994, the year the bridge opened, around 105 000 people crossed the bridge. In 2013,

almost 6 million people crossed the bridge.

In 1994, total trade over the bridge was 4.8 billion Baht. Last year, total trade over the bridge

was nearly 60 billion Baht.

Australian Ambassador to Thailand, James Wise (9th

from left, under the Thai flag);

Australian Ambassador to Lao PDR, John Williams (gold shirt, 6th

from left); Mayor of

Vientiane Capital, H.E. Soukan Mahalath (red shirt, 7th

from left, under the Lao flag); and

Nong Khai Governor, H.E. Wirat Limsuwat (blue shirt, 8th

from left, under the Australian flag),

flanked by Lao PDR and Thai officials, raise a toast at the centre of the first friendship bridge,

to celebrate its 20th

anniversary.

The opening of the Nong Khai-Vientiane Relationship on the Mekong River photo exhibition

at the Thai–Lao Botanical Gardens in Nong Khai: (from left to right) John Williams, Australian

Ambassador to Lao PDR; H.E. Mr Soukan Mahalath, Mayor of Vientiane Capital; H.E. Mr Wirat

Limsuwat, Nong Khai Governor; and Mr James Wise, Australian Ambassador to Thailand.

Mr Sanchai Buasung, winner of ‘The Bridge of Friendship’ photo competition and his

photography on display at the Nong Khai-Vientiane Relationship on the Mekong River photo

exhibition, Thai–Lao Botanical Gardens, Saturday 5 April.

Australian saxophonist Matt Keegan performed alongside Thai musicians Pajone Peebung

(drums) and Prasobchok Duangmalai (bass) at the 20th

anniversary of Lao – Thai Friendship

Bridge celebration event in Nong Khai on 5 April.

Performance group ‘Pet Jarat Sang’ highlighted the friendship between ASEAN countries and

Australia at the 20th

anniversary of Lao – Thai Friendship Bridge celebrations in Nong Khai

province on 5 April.

Media enquiries

Pathana Siphandone

Australian Embassy, Vientiane

Tel +856 21 353800 ext. 236

Fax +856 21 353801

Email Pathana.Siphandone@dfat.gov.au