Laos needs more young people to study science so they can contribute to the nation’s development, according to a leading official. The number of students enrolling in science courses is continuing to decrease with most high school leavers studying in other fields, Minister of Science and ...

The next Party National Congress of the ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) is scheduled for early next year and, through this process, new leaders and a new politburo will be elected. While a cloak of secrecy makes it is extremely difficult to predict what ...

Military gears and training programmes worth nearly 577 million VND (26,200 USD) were handed over to the Mapping Department of the Laos People’s Army by the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army in Vientiane on 8 December.  Keep reading ...

Amid an ongoing drought and low water levels, the state of the Mekong River is a topic that is animating discussion along the watercourse, with sights often aimed squarely at the Xayaburi Hydroelectric Power Plant. To help clear the waters, the project owners invited regional ...

The World Bank has agreed to provide a low interest loan of US$30 million to fight poverty in Laos, a government source has said. The Lao government will contribute another US$6 million bringing total funding from the three sources to US$52 million. This amount will be ...

Vientiane authorities have stressed the need for a new highway that would run parallel to KaysonePhomvihane Road in a move to minimise traffic congestion in the capital. The capital’s mayor DrSinlavongKhoutphaythoune put the plan to the Vientiane People’s Council last week, saying that without a new ...

The Lao government is keen to cooperate with its development partners to fulfil the priorities of the 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2016-20 in view of its implications for graduation from Least Developed Country status. To ensure that the government achieves its development goals, the ...

Two villagers were reportedly killed by flash flooding in the country’s northern Oudomxay province and more households severely impacted as heavy rain lashed multiple districts over the weekend, a provincial senior official said yesterday. A heavy downpour that began on Friday midnight and continued until ...

Laos government has in principle approved four laws, two decrees and other policies to streamline its administrative system and boost socio-economic development. The endorsement was reached at the government’s July monthly meeting, with two days of talks wrapping up on 22 July. Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office ...

Agribusiness operators in Phongsaly province are struggling for trade after Chinese authorities banned the import of some agricultural produce. Commercial crops including green tea and sweetcorn being traded by Lao entrepreneurs in the province cannot be exported to China, the provincial Green Tea Processing Factory Director, ...

An air shipment of illegal ivory and pangolin scales, worth an estimated $1.3 million, was intercepted and seized by the authorities on 13 December at the Changi Airfreight Centre.  In a joint release on 17 December, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) and Singapore Customs ...

Over 500 people have been affected by UXO-related accidents in Laos since 2009, according to a report from the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) for UXO/Mine Action in Laos. The NRA reported that from 2009 until the present there had been 319 incidents involving unexploded ordnance, claiming ...

The rubber price in Luang Namtha province has fallen continually since 2013 causing a large number of growers to plant other crops instead. The rubber price in the province is currently 3,000-3,500 kip per kilogramme, down from 4,000-4,500 kip per kg over the past year, an ...

A local developer is proposing to the Lao government to convert BM Plaza into a specific economic zone in order to facilitate business operations and attract more investment, trade and tourism through the single window service. Representatives from BM Group yesterday met with officials from the ...

Bokeo provincial police confiscated over 100,000 amphetamine pills and arrested two drug traffickers in Phonthong village, Paktha district, last week. Head of the Bokeo provincial Public Security Headquarters, Colonel Lamphai Yotpaphai, told Vientiane Times on 11 November that police received a tip off about illegal drugs being ...

Maintaining loyalty to the nation, Party and people while pursuing national development and defence remains the goal of the Lao People’s Army. Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Sengnouan Xayalath gave this message at a meeting held in Vientiane yesterday to commemorate the army’s 67th anniversary this ...

Laos is now moving towards industrialisation and modernisation after experiencing a slight increase in the share that the industrial and service sectors represent in the overall economic structure. In contrast, the agriculture and forestry sector has declined significantly in the past decade as a result of ...

The Lao Women’s Union and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family have joined forces to provide vocational training for Lao women, to improve their job prospects. A meeting to discuss the management of the project took place on Friday at the Lao ...

In the wake of complaints by students’ parents about the annual increases in tuition fees, the Vientiane Education and Sports Department has set a cap on fee increases.  The department has set a limit for both state and private schools in Vientiane, from kindergarten to secondary ...

The new specific economic zone (SEZ) being developed through cooperation between Laos and Japan should bring economic and other benefits to the government, local administrations and people by being a model on transparency of investment. Relevant officials made the comments about the project recently on the ...