Thongloun revisits his alma mater in Beijing

When Lao top leader Thongloun Sisoulith stepped into the dormitory where he had lived in 2000, he found everything almost exactly as he remembered — the same layout and the same atmosphere, unchanged even after so many years.

"Today, I am truly delighted to return to my alma mater," he said during a visit on Thursday to the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Thongloun, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao president, arrived in Beijing from Hangzhou in Zhejiang province earlier in the day to continue his five-day state visit to China.

"Though the campus has undergone some changes over the years, the places where I lived and studied remain just the same. It left a deep impression on me," he said.

In 2000, Thongloun took part in a monthlong study program at the institute. As he recalled, the program involved 25 senior officials from Laos, and the group was headed by Bounnhang Vorachith, Laos' former top leader. The curriculum at that time featured lessons on Party theory, state policies and national development.

"Studying in the school has continuously enriched my experience in Party building, and laid a crucial foundation for leading national development in later years," he said.

The Party school has long been a platform for exchanges between officials from both China and Laos. This year alone, it has enrolled over 40 Lao students.

Thongloun said that he looks forward to seeing these students develop into high-caliber and competent officials, and expressed his hope that more Lao officials will gain access to such valuable study opportunities at the Party school to learn from the CPC's governance expertise.

He said that Laos has a similar institution — the Lao National Academy of Politics and Public Administration. Noting that the academy and the CPC's Party school have so far signed four cooperation agreements, Thongloun said that he appreciates China's support for the Lao academy.

Having witnessed fruitful results from previous short-term study programs between the two sides, he called for deeper bilateral cooperation, prioritizing faculty exchanges between the two institutions.

"I sincerely hope we can invite my former Chinese instructors to deliver lectures in Laos starting this year," he said.