YANGON, May 3 (Xinhua) — Myanmar President U Htin Kyaw will pay a goodwill visit to Laos soon, according to an official statement on Tuesday

It did not specify the date of the visit.

The upcoming tour to Laos will be U Htin Kyaw's first foreign trip after his government took office on April 1.

Myanmar-Laos relations and cooperation were highlighted by the opening of the first-ever friendship bridge across the Mekong River last year. The bridge, which links Myanmar's Tachileik in eastern Shan state and Laos' Luang Namtha Province, was inaugurated by then presidents of both countries in May.

The Mekong subregion countries greatly benefit from the bridge which is on the North Economic Corridor linking the Haiphong port in Vietnam and the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port in Myanmar through Laos.

Sharing a border of over 230 km, the two neighbors established diplomatic relations in July 1955.

According to official statistics, the volume of trade between Myanmar and Laos is still low compared with other neighboring countries.

The two countries also cooperate in drug control and in ensuring security, peace and stability of the two countrie