VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The government has announced the formation of a task force committee to carry out a comprehensive study of marijuana for medical uses.The Prime Minister’s Office recently issued an announcement appointing the Minister of Health, Associate Professor Dr Bounkong Syhavong to chair ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The government cabinet has pledged to continue efforts to streamline procedures to better facilitate business operations.The commitment was made as the cabinet concluded its monthly meeting for May which ended yesterday, according to a press statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.The ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The United Nations (UN) has listed the improvement of Lao people’s living conditions as being at the heart of all the development programmes it plans to carry out in Laos in the coming years, according to the new United Nations chief ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Work on the Laos-China railway line is progressing ahead of schedule, with the project on track to be completed by 2021, a senior government official has said. Director General of the Planning and Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Public Works and ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Two major global funds have joined forces to help the Lao government tackle climate change problems.The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Green Climate Fund (GCF) announced at a meeting with government representatives this week that they would establish a joint mission ...

Tourism officials in northern provinces last week learnt about the evaluation of Asean Community Based Tourism Standards with regard to major tourist sites.The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism together with staff from Bokeo, Oudomxay and Luang Prabang tourism departments convened three training sessions on ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The energy and mining sector is trying to cut electricity prices so that power is affordable for local residents and businesses.Many consumers in Laos have been complaining about their escalating electricity bills. The tariff is high when compared to neighbouring countries, ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone has donated 3 billion kip to the government to assist flood victims in the central and southern provinces of Laos.The amount was presented on Tuesday by the Chairman of the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Laos remains committed to realising the rights of the child with authorities holding workshops to discuss concluding observations for all sectors at central and provincial level in order to develop their action plans.This was the message at a consultation workshop with development ...

The trafficking of Lao nationals to neighboring Thailand as undocumented laborers continues to be a growing problem with brokers arranging for thousands to be taken across the border for job opportunities that too often end up in situations where Laotians are abused by their employers.More ...

Laos plans to put an end to asbestos-related diseases among workers by banning the use of the material to stop exposure, according to a leading official.More ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – A delegation from the Ministry of Home Affairs last week attended an Asean meeting in Thailand on regional cooperation in civil service affairs.Director General of the Performance Appraisal and Civil Service Development Department, Mr Bounchanh Niyavong, led the delegation attending the ...

TOKYO (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The government of Japan has agreed to help Laos develop high quality human resources responsible for strengthening administrative capacity and establishing institutions, including improving the capacity of government officials, according to the website of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The promise of assistance ...

The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on Monday presented Laos with a certificate confirming the inscription of the Plain of Jars on the World Heritage List.The certificate was presented to Prof. Dr Bosengkham Vongdara, a special envoy ...

Survivors of a July 2018 dam disaster described as Laos’ worst flooding in decades are still dealing with physical and mental hardship, according to an official of a South Korean-led relief effort.The disaster occurred when a saddle dam at the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy (PNPC) ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – It will now be easier for business operators in Laos, especially in seven provinces, to register their firms following the installation of modern equipment at business registration points.The equipment, worth more than 680 million kip, was handed over to the Enterprise ...

Vehicles regularly carry goods into Laos from the sea port in Thanh Hoa province of Vietnam, about 250 kilometres from Huaphan province. The amount of incoming traffic is not large but the border is heavily congested with trucks ferrying goods into both countries.More ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Lao Bankers’ Association (LBA) is working to upgrade the skills of employees of banks that are members of the association by equipping them with broader understanding of risk management and prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing.The LBA’s Chairman, Mr ...

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will continue its support for the Enhancing People’s Participation through Community Radio project until 2021.The cooperation project which began in 2017 will continue until 2021 at a total cost of more than 25 billion kip (US$3 million).More ...

The German government has agreed to give six million euros for the second tranche of the Lao Access to Finance Fund (LAFF) through the German Development Bank (KfW) for micro and small enterprises in Laos.More ...