Our Bureau
Vientiane, Laos
Recently, during the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Laos and India jointly released a special commemorative postage stamp set featuring Lord Ram of Ayodhya.
A unique feature of the stamp set launched was that it is the world’s first stamp depicting Shri Ram Lalla of Ayodhya.
Jaishankar, who was in Laos for ASEAN mechanism meetings on Saturday took to X to post that he along with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Lao PDR, Saleumxay Kommasith launched the special postage stamp set.
The stamps celebrate the shared cultural treasures of Ramayana and Buddhism between the two countries, said the External Affairs Minister.
The set comprising two stamps, depicts Lord Buddha of the city of Luang Prabang, the ancient capital of Laos, and Lord Ram of Ayodhya, the sacred capital city of Lord Ram.
Jaishankar posted on X, “A good meeting with DPM and FM Saleumxay Kommasith of Lao PDR. Thanked him for the warm hospitality. Witnessed exchange of MoUs on 10 Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) for Laos under Mekong Ganga Cooperation and cooperation in sharing successful Digital Solutions. Launched a special stamp set celebrating our shared cultural treasures of Ramayana and Buddhism.”
Buddhism has bound India and Lao PDR together for millennia. Ramayana (Lao version is called Ramakien or the Story of Phra Lak Phra Ram) is revered in Laos like in India and is performed on auspicious occasions. The theme of the stamp set is “Celebrating shared cultural heritage of Lao PDR and India”.
Jaishankar was on a three-day visit to Vientiane for the ASEAN-India Post Ministerial Conference (PMC), EAS Foreign Ministers Meeting and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) which Lao PDR hosted in Vientiane as the ASEAN Chair for 2024.
