Q: Can you share your personal feelings about the event?

Sombandith: The launching ceremony of the Laos-China Railway on Dec 3 was a historic milestone that makes me proud of my diplomatic assignment here — one that will remain in my memory forever.

I am lucky to have been appointed as Lao Consul General to Yunnan province, which is a starting point linking Laos and China, a hub to connect China with South and Southeast Asia and a province that actively implements a master plan for community building with a shared future in the Laos-China economic corridor.

Also, I am lucky to have had an opportunity to participate in this historic event — the official launch of the Laos-China Railway — on Dec 3. I also participated in various forums and activities in connection with the event, which further deepens Laos-China relations. The year 2021 is a lucky year for me.

About the interviewee

Manila Sombandith, 61, is consul general of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in Kunming, Yunnan province. She was born in Luang Namtha province. She is married and has two children.

After graduating from International Relations University in Vietnam in 1984, she was employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos and has worked in the ministry's Europe and Africa Department and its External Relations Department.

From 1993 to 1996, she was deputy consul general of Laos in Hochiminh, Vietnam. From 2009 to 2014, she was first secretary of the Lao Embassy in Vietnam.

In 2014 she began working in the External Relations of the Party Central Committee, and became director-general of its Asia Pacific and Africa Department in 2017.

Reporters: LI YINGQING in Kunming, CHEN MEILING and GUO KAI

Editors: SHAN JUAN and WANG JIANFEN