While many people are employed in the hospitality industry their customer service doesn’t often meet Asean standards so more training is needed to improve their skills. Deputy Director General of the Department of Skills Development and Employment at the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Mr ...

A Lao-Chinese project that will encourage people in Phongsaly province to grow agricultural crops instead of opium poppies has been launched, at an estimated cost of 161 million yuan. An agreement on the project was signed last week in Seo Chai village, Yot Ou district, ...

The Department of Commerce Promotion under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is partnering with Vientiane farmers to increase sales of home-grown produce to local consumers through a crop fair. The department is hosting the Vientiane Crop Trade Fair at Lao-ITECC on Saturday, to help farmers ...

The government of Japan has agreed to provide 97 million yen (US$880,201) to expand the water supply system in the city of Luang Prabang.The project will be carried out from June 1, 2019, to October 10, 2022.The Japan International Cooperation Agency in Laos on Tuesday ...

China deserves credit for shutting down the illegal trading in elephant ivory that has contributed in recent years to the killing of thousands of African pachyderms. But much credit should also go to international nongovernment organizations that have championed the elephants’ cause and raised public ...

The release of recent research from the Netherlands adds an additional insight into what is happening in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, the country’s all-important food producing region that contributes some fifty per cent to its agricultural GDP. In a stark conclusion the research cites 2050 as the Tipping ...

Land tenure in Mekong forest landscapes: advancing the recognition of customary rights and responsible investment practices Online and in Chiang Mai (Thailand), Hanoi (Viet Nam), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Vientiane (Lao People’s Democratic Republic) and Yangon (Myanmar) Date: 26-27 May 2021 Recent global disruptions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic ...

The Mekong in Southeast Asia is one of the world’s mightiest rivers and scientists are still learning about its stunning biodiversity. In fact, hardly a week seems to go by without new discoveries along the river. In a series of finds, according to a report by the World ...

The Mekong River Commission, in cooperation with GIZ, will host a comprehensive training course on an assessment tool of sustainable hydropower development later this year through early next year, and invites experienced water sector professionals to apply for the opportunity.  Together with the Asian Development Bank ...

First Regional Workshop on the 1st Draft of the MRC’s Preliminary Guidelines for Wetland Inventory, WEFASAM and WBIA  will be held on January 4-5, 2018 at the Office of the Mekong River Commission Secretariat in Vientiane, Lao PDR.The two-day workshop is to discuss ten-selected international/sensitive wetland sites ...

National dress code is not only representing the country but also an identity of the nation. Last Friday, about six representatives from different countries came together to display their traditional dresses at the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC). More than 300 participants witnessed the elegance and ...

The Mekong River, flowing from the Tibetan Plateau through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to the South China Sea, is a hotbed of ecological diversity. The roughly 60 million people who live in the region, many in poverty, depend on the river and its ...

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 bat that could be a member of an American boy band, a gibbon with a Star Wars name and a toad straight from Tolkien’s Middle Earth are among the 157 newly discovered species in the Greater Mekong region described by the world’s scientists in ...

The parliaments of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam shared experiences in monitoring and managing State budget and public investment during a conference in Phnom Penh on Monday. Addressing delegates at the launch of the conference, Cambodian National Assembly leader Heng Samrin said the event ...

The most cost-effective way to keep fresh water clean for human use? Nature itself. Forests, rivers and wetlands filter out contaminants, store excess water, and in some cases even drive rainfall, so maintaining the health of those ecosystems — typically far upstream from population centers ...

A new study of drug resistance in the parasite responsible for roughly half of all malaria cases worldwide has identified more than 80 genes that contribute to resistance, some of which could provide important information for drug development, researchers say.[]In recent years, however, a strain ...

Thailand aims to increase trade with countries on its borders by 15% this year, to a record high of 1.5 trillion baht ($50 billion). The government is backing the drive to offset an expected slowdown in overall export growth due to appreciation of the baht ...

Most countries in Southeast Asia do not have a transparent budget process, according to a global survey conducted by International Budget Partnership. The 2015 Open Budget Index used 140 observable facts and indicators to measure if a country’s budget system allows opportunities for adequate oversight and public ...

THE THAI delegation at a meeting this week on a third dam planned for the Lower Mekong River at Pak Bang in Laos urged the Chinese project developer, Datang Corp, to conduct a transboundary study to resolve outstanding issues. The developer appeared hesitant to take ...