Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith told the National Assembly on Friday that Laos is unable to graduate from the United Nations’ Least Developed Country (LDC) list by 2020 as targeted. The premier was responding to questions raised by members of parliament at the ongoing 5th ordinary ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has urged members of the Lao Coffee Association to strictly maintain the quality of local coffee production based on professional advice for organic farming standards.The PM’s advice was to uphold quality standards so growers can obtain a ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Laos and Vietnam are continuing to cooperate on future investment projects in Laos in spite of a recent slowdown compared to previous years.One of the major projects is the construction of the Nongkhang airport in Xamneua district, Huaphan province; the Laos-Vietnam ...

Workers are currently preparing the ground for the construction of the two largest stations on the Laos-China railway – one near the Chinese border and the other at the end of the line in Vientiane.An employee on the Laos-China Railway Construction Project, who asked not ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) Champassak province’s economy saw growth of 8.15 per cent in 2018, 0.02 per cent more than the figure of 8.13 endorsed by the National Assembly.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) hit 19,142 billion kip or 115.63 percent of the 2018 target of 16,554 billion ...

Authorities have ordered the closure of three Chinese clinics this month in the northern Laotian province of Luang Namtha after issues such as unsanitary conditions and unqualified doctors have led to multiple patient deaths, RFA’s Lao Service has learned.The three clinics, Hong Sing clinic in ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Even as flood levels continue to drop, thousands of people in the south of Laos are hungry and in need of help from the government, organisations and public.They don’t have enough food, drinking water, kitchen equipment, bedding, and other essentials.Tropical depression ...

Police in Laos this week arrested three Chinese nationals for trying to buy holiday clothing with counterfeit bills that a shopkeeper had noticed were marked by smeared ink, causing her to contact authorities, sources in Laos said.The suspects, two men and a woman, had recently ...

(KPL) The European Union Ambassador to the Lao PDR Léon Paul Faber, the Minister of Commerce and Industry Khemmany Pholsena and EIF Executive Director Ratnakar Adhikari launched on Mar 11 the strategic plan 2019-2022 of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF): Forging New Paths for Least Developed Countries in global ...

CHAMPASSAK, Laos (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry is expanding the Small and Medium Enterprises Service Cente (SSC) to Champassak province to strengthen the capacity of SMEs in the four southern provinces.Senior officials from the SME Promotion Department of the ...

Centara, Thailand’s leading hospitality group led by Suthikiati Chirathivat, Chairman of the Board, has inked a management MOU with Asia Investment, Development & Construction Sole Co., Ltd (AIDC), a well-established investment and construction company in Laos. The agreement paves the way for Centara to enter into management agreements for three ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The value of mineral exports and domestic sales increased in the first quarter of this year despite lower commodity prices on the world market.In 2018, annual domestic mineral sales achieved US$66.2 million compared to 2017, an increase of 38.79 percent, while ...

The government plans to inject more funds into research activities so that it can use the scientific studies as a reference when developing an agriculture promotion policy, according to a senior government leader.Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr Somdy Duangdy, told a National ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Government officials and members of the private sector met in Vientiane yesterday to discuss the challenges and opportunities for private sector engagement in green growth and climate change in Laos.The meeting, titled Private Sector Engagement in Climate Change and Green Growth, ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The government has stressed the availability of food and clean water along with safety and disease prevention for flood-impacted communities still staying in temporary accommodation and shelters.Measures to address this year’s flood disaster were approved by the government at its meeting on ...

FAO is working for Climate Adaptation in Wetland Areas of Lao PDR.  Lao PDR is intimately associated with one of the world’s major wetlands with the Mekong River system. The Mekong basin covers 88% of the country. More ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Germany has agreed to support all-year access to remote rural villages, bolster income generation, and improve the socio-economic conditions of people in Khammuan and Attapeu provinces.Funding for the two rural development projects will see the construction and renovation of rural roads ...

CHAMPASSAK (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Coffee growers in southern Laos are asking for government assistance to create a fund to support coffee bean processing and provide technical advice to local growers following the recent slump in the market price.Head of the Lao Coffee Association, Mr Sivixay ...

Hangzhou Safefound Technology Co., Ltd., a China-based company, is keen to develop solar energy in Laos because the country has the perfect geographical location for almost year-round sunlight.The company is now expected to conduct a feasibility study on a solar energy development project on the ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The cabinet has named the management of currency exchange as one of its top priorities in the coming months, as the gap between the official and market exchange rates widens.According to a media release issued at the end of the cabinet’s ...