BEIJING, October 17. /TASS/. Russia and Laos have good political ties but their economic cooperation lags behind, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at a meeting with his Laotian counterpart, Thongloun Sisoulith.

"In general, relations on the political plane are very good, but, of course, we need to supplement this with economic substance," he said, adding that economic indicators were a little down last year. "However, I think that we have good prospects and we will talk about it now," he added.

The Russian president said that he was glad to speak with his Laotian counterpart in Beijing. He recalled that Laotian Vice President Pany Yathotu visited Russia in September to attend the Eastern Economic Forum. "Today, we have an opportunity to continue this dialogue. We know you to be a reliable friend," Putin said, adding that he and the Laotian president may have crossed paths in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) once upon a time as they both went to college there at around the same time.

The Laotian president graduated from the Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute, specializing in philology in 1978 and earned a PhD degree at the Academy of Social Sciences under the Communist Party’s Central Committee.