President Lee Jae Myung and Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith shake hands ahead of their summit at the presidential office in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Korea and Laos agreed Monday to elevate their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and to strengthen cooperation against transnational crime, signing treaties on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and extradition.

The agreements were reached during a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith, who is on an official visit to Seoul -- the first such visit by a Laotian president in 12 years.

Speaking at an expanded summit meeting at the presidential office, Lee said the agreement marks a significant milestone as the two countries commemorate three decades of the resumption of diplomatic relations.

"President Thongloun and I have agreed to upgrade our bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations," Lee said.

He noted that since restoring ties in 1995, Korea and Laos have achieved "remarkable progress in just one generation" across a wide range of areas, including trade, investment, and people-to-people exchanges.

"Korea is one of Laos's top three development cooperation partners and its fifth-largest source of foreign investment," the president said, adding that the Southeast Asian country is also a key partner for Seoul within the Korea-ASEAN and Korea-Mekong cooperation frameworks.

Lee also expressed confidence in Laos's national strategy to overcome the geographical constraints of being landlocked by developing into a regional transportation and logistics hub, and pledged that Korea would remain a "reliable partner" in that effort.

Highlighting Laos' abundant natural resources, Lee described the country as an important partner in building critical mineral supply chains, stressing the need to further advance "mutually beneficial and future-oriented cooperation" that delivers tangible benefits to the people of both countries.

Thongloun echoed the sentiment, calling this year an opportunity to review the achievements of the past three decades and expressing hope that the upgraded partnership will open a new chapter in bilateral relations.

He also noted that Laos continues to face challenges in exiting least developed country (LDC) status and asked for Korea's continued attention and support.

"The Republic of Korea is an important partner in development cooperation for Laos. Korea has continuously provided official development assistance in areas such as human resource development, improvements in health and medical services, infrastructure expansion, and the removal of unexploded ordnance. These grant aid projects of the Korean government are making a significant contribution to Laos's economic development today, and I am confident that they will continue to contribute to Laos's long-term economic development in the future," Thongloun said.

"In particular, while Laos and Korea have cultural differences, our two countries also share commonalities. The peoples of both nations have experienced war and overcome great hardships, and Korea ultimately achieved remarkable success by transforming itself from one of the world's poorest countries into a developed nation. Korea's development experience has become an important reference point for many countries around the world and serves as a valuable lesson for Laos as well."

Thongloun went on to note Korea's importance as a partner in development cooperation for Laos, providing official development assistance in areas such as human resource development, improvements in health and medical services, infrastructure expansion and the removal of unexploded ordnance.

After the summit, the countries signed two treaties -- one on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and another on extradition -- and renewed a memorandum of understanding on Korea's employment permit system for Laotian workers.

Thongloun and his spouse paid an official visit from Sunday to Monday at the invitation of the Korean president. The two leaders began the day's schedule with a welcome ceremony, followed by a guest-book signing, a commemorative photo session, expanded summit discussions, a signing ceremony for agreements and an official luncheon.

Korea, Laos sign legal cooperation treaties, renew labor MOU after summit - The Korea Times