For the Mekong countries, including Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam, 2018 was a big year both domestically and regionally. Key developments from last year will inevitably continue to shape the politics of the region in 2019. In terms of domestic affairs, the most worrying ...

A major energy review by Thailand has delayed the launch of a controversial dam on the Mekong. This could lead to further questions about future hydropower projects along the river. The Chinese-backed Pak Beng dam in Laos was supposed to be the third dam under construction ...

Officials have proposed suggestions to the government for the removal of various barriers facing the tourism sector in a bid to boost visitor arrivals in Laos. The proposal follows on from advice offered by the Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith to the Ministry of Information, Culture ...

Today, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Council comprising water and environment ministers of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam gathered for its Twenty-Fourth Meeting in Pattaya, Thailand. The meeting was to review the MRC work in 2017 and make a decision on future direction ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is supporting Lao police to attend a Capacity Building Programme for Forensic Science and Crime Investigation Technology, in the Republic of Korea.KOICA has invited 15 officials from the Ministry of Public Security to attend the ...

Leaders of five Southeast Asian nations yesterday collectively pushed forward the setting up of sub-regional development funds in the hope they would increase self-sufficiency by driving construction of “missing-link” projects. The new co-managed funds were proposed at the summit of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy ...

High-ranking diplomats from the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and China will convene on Friday at the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC), a relatively new mechanism to enhance regional cooperation. The latest edition of the LMC will take place this week in Yunnan, in southern China, bringing together ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Strengthening regional cooperation was the focus of the 3rd Seminar for Media Officials and Journalists from Mekong-Lancang Countries held in Kunming, Yunnan province, China from July 21-29.Media professionals from Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand attended the event which aimed to enhance ...

 A 32-member Home Team contingent, comprising 14 officers from the Singapore Police Force (SPF), three victim recovery dogs from the SPF K9 Unit, and 18 Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers arrived in Laos on Monday on a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) C-130 ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Laos joined China, other Asean, and neighbouring countries to discuss mutual support in developing police academies and training institutes.The cooperation was discussed during the 3rd China-Asean and Neighbouring Countries Police Academy Presidents Forum Law Enforcement Capacity Building Round Table Meeting in ...

The Luang Prabang Film Festival (LPFF) has announced that its ninth annual event will take place on 7-12 December 2018. The festival, which celebrates Southeast Asian cinema every December in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang, Laos, will feature a range of feature film ...

Vientiane residents joined people abroad in practising yoga to improve their health and mental abilities for the occasion of the 4th International Yoga Day. The Deputy Minister of Education and Sports, Mr Boualane Silipanya, and the Ambassador of India to Laos, Mr Ravi Shankar Aisola, on ...

THAILAND is home to more than 55 per cent of the region’s migrant workers but if the country could back it up with proper policies, it could contribute to economic growth under the much-talked-about Thailand 4.0 strategy, according to a World Bank report. []Migrant workers in ...

Employers in Laos will be subject to legal action if authorities discover they are failing to pay their workers the minimum wage.The minimum wage was increased last year from 900,000 kip to 1.1 million kip a month for a  standard eight-hour day, in a bid ...

Joint Committee Working Group Meeting on CEO’s Performance Appraisal will be held on January 4, 2018 at the Office of the Mekong River Commission Secretariat in Vientiane, Lao PDR.The meeting is to discuss and obtain a concrete roadmap for the second year of Chief Executive Officer’s ...

Strong rises in exports and foreign investment in the manufacturing sector will continue to accelerate Vietnam’s GDP growth, the IMF said in its April update on Asia-Pacific economic outlook. In the region, only several frontier economies will see higher rates, including Myanmar’s 8.6 percent, Laos’ 7.4 ...

As the biggest loser, Vietnam has to use its influence to limit dam damage on Mekong Delta, says Mekong specialist Richard Cronin. []Already, upstream dams in China and on major Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) tributaries in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam have trapped a major share of ...

Stretching from its headwaters in the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau to its endpoint in the delta marshes of Vietnam, the mighty Mekong River is one of the world’s great ecosystems. For Laos, it represents so much more: the energy source behind an ambitious hydro-power buildout and ...

Cambodia on Thursday presented the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) to hundreds of university teachers and students here to celebrate the LMC Week 2019. Before the presentation, a short video, featuring lifestyles and traditions of residents along the Lancang-Mekong river as well as LMC activities, was screened. ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The government is launching a free WiFi system at landmarks in the capital under a project supported by the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity.A workshop and launch of the Free Wifi System to Enhance Public and Tourism Services in Laos took place in Vientiane ...