Direct flights from Malaysia's capital of Kuala Lumpur and Lao's capital of Vientiane will resume from July after nearly a decade of hiatus, local press reported Saturday.

 

Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia will be operating between the two cities, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters.

 

The governments of the two countries reached an agreement at the third joint commission meeting for bilateral cooperation in the Malaysian administrative center of Putrajaya, the New Straits Times reported.

 

The decision to resume direct air links was made as part of steps to increase cooperation in tourism and to boost trade and investment, Syed said Friday after the two-day meeting.

 

Malaysia Airlines, the national carrier, had offered flights into Vientiane beginning in 1996 but ceased operations since 1998 due to the Asian financial crisis.

 

Syed said the resumption of direct flights is mutually beneficial as Laos is keen to have more Malaysians invest there.

 

Malaysia is the ninth largest investor in Laos, with interests mainly in hotels and hydropower facilities, said the report.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2007)