he ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) has awarded eleven tour products in six categories for the trips with destinations to the ASEAN Member States (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) as winners of the ASEAN Tourism Awards Japan 2018. With the ...

The region’s transportation network stands to get an investment boost after the The 21st Greater Mekong Subregion Ministerial Conference decided on a new investment plan on December 1. Six ministers from GMS countries — China, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar — endorsed an additional ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The case of a well-known Lao businessman who was fined over a dubious traffic offence has been a hot topic on social media after he referred the incident to the court of public opinion.The man was driving a Jeep on Road ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Xaysomboun province’s Information, Culture and Tourism Department and the Khamphay Sana Group have begun a feasibility study on the building of tourist facilities on Phou Bia Mountain, hoping to spur interest in environmental protection while also opening up the area to ...

Thailand has designated 24 provinces as “surveillance areas” for African swine fever and ordered strict animal controls in hopes of preventing an outbreak of the deadly disease that has hit its neighbours, an agriculture official said on Friday. Thailand has been on high alert since the ...

On Thursday, April 25, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation in Beijing. Heads of state and other senior government officials from 37 governments will attend, including representatives from ...

The government says the much-touted Eastern Economic Corridor is ready to be an important part of China’s One Belt, One Road initiative, which envisions connectivity between China and Eurasia. Speaking Monday at a seminar entitled “Thailand-Hong Kong-Shanghai Strategic Partnership on One Belt, One Road,” Deputy ...

The government of India yesterday approved the creation of a project development fund of about $75 million to help Indian firms invest in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam ‒ the so-called CLMV countries. “The project development fund will benefit India’s industrial community in terms of business ...

Civic groups on Sunday lodged a petition calling for governments of countries along the Mekong River to review upcoming dam projects. The petition was on Sunday submitted to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) by the Mekong Conservation Network in the North during a forum held in ...

Since Chinese President Xi Jinping took over power in 2012, Southeast Asia has become a focal point of China’s geopolitical ambitions. Instead of the clandestine and illegal tactics seen under Mao Zedong, the current strategy combines two major approaches: building Chinese-led institutional mechanisms and buying ...

Vientiane Times – The government will no longer issue entry visas for people travelling to Laos from countries with a community outbreak of Covid-19, the national taskforce has announced.The move is part of new measures being imposed until December 31 to prevent and control the ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Boten Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Luang Namtha province is anticipating investment of at least US$10 billion to fully develop the site, according to a zone representative.The zone borders on Bohan in Yunnan province, China, and is part of the rapidly-growing ...

Nearly half of a massive 700-megawatt coal-fired power plant with the $383 million joint venture project that will fuel the country’s biggest industrial park and feed the national grid is set to be completed by the end of the year, according to officials at the Ministry ...

Thailand fetched 1.4 trillion THB (44.5 billion USD) from cross-border trade in 2018, up 6 percent over the previous year, but falling short of the set target of 1.5 trillion THB. According to Thailand’s Department of Foreign Trade, the ongoing US-China trade row, natural disasters, ...

A new road connecting the Thai border at Nan Province with Luang Prabang Province in Laos has officially opened, cutting the travel time for visitors.The new road extends from Hongsa District to Luang Prabang, and then reaches the border crossing with Nan Province in Thailand.Prior ...

The Mekong River in Southeast Asia flows for 4,350 kilometers from China to Vietnam through Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia. China’s construction of large hydropower dams to feed the country’s growing energy needs is causing problems downriver, including dire impacts on the waters and fertile ...

The 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting took place in Laos’s capital city of Vientiane on July 24 with the participation of 10 Foreign Ministers from ASEAN member countries and the ASEAN Secretary General. The Vietnamese delegation to the meeting was led by Deputy Prime Minister and ...

When people talk about sustainable development there is rarely any mention of the many street vendors who make a living on streets in Thailand, as across the rest of Asia.  []In January it was reported that the Thai authorities had arrested over 1,600 illegal migrants, mainly ...

Water management in the Mekong region is, in practice, dominated by energy objectives. In Cambodia, the priority is to substitute domestically produced hydropower for expensive diesel and electricity imports. In Laos, the priority is to generate revenue by drawing in foreign investment in dams and export ...

ShareTweetShare0 Shares The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the need to protect not only one’s own physical health, but also our digital selves. The Open Development Initiative has developed a set of nine tips for staying safe online during the pandemic.  This is in response to the increasing ...