India’s trade relation with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) countries has immense potential, and “connectivity” and “economic integration” with regional value chains were crucial in this regard, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on 12 January. Keep reading ...

Downpours lasting several hours have caused rivers in several provinces to overflow and inundate dwellings, farmland, roads and other property. In Huaphan province, 13 households living alongside the Khan River in Hiem district suffered the effects of flooding after a deluge lasting several hours on July ...

The Lao parliament has approved the concession agreement for the controversial Don Sahong hydropower dam and expects to begin construction before the end of the year, according to an official in Vientiane. Keep reading ...

The construction of a dam in Laos is endangering the ecosystem of the Mekong river, one of the world’s largest rivers running a length of 5,000 km (3,107 miles) and a source of life and livelihood for millions living along its banks. The dam threatens the ...

Laos has confirmed its readiness to host the 9th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication in Vientiane from 13-17 October. Speaking at a press conference on 6 October on preparations for the meeting, Deputy Minister to the Government Office and Vice Chairman of the National ...

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the current visit by Lao Vice President Bounnhang Vorachith will give new momentum to the friendship and co-operation between the two nations. Receiving the Lao State official in Hanoi yesterday, Dung hailed comprehensive outcomes in many areas of bilateral co-operation, such as ...

The six Mekong Basin countries convened in Vientiane on 23 March to discuss ways to increase their cooperation in disease surveillance, especially in border areas, to curb the spread of infectious diseases. Representatives from Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam attended the Mekong Basin Disease ...

The Lao government’s changes to regulations on domestic nonprofit associations will hinder the work of the groups and slow down development projects in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, an NGO official said 11 September. Keep reading ...

Thailand’s Transport Ministry is planning a feasibility and design study on a new bridge across the Mekong River as part of the third phase of the Thai-Chinese high-speed rail project. Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said the seventh bridge linking Nong Khai with Vientiane, also known as the second Thailand-Laos friendship ...

Upstream dams and sand mining have caused significant erosion along the Mekong River in western Laos, according to experts, devastating riparian communities in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation with high waters and powerful currents. But residents of those communities say they believe that other issues are to ...

Civil society groups are calling for Laos’ Don Sahong hydropower dam project to be discussed when Southeast Asian leaders meet with U.S. President Barack Obama next week. Leaders of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states will converge on the Sunnylands estate in California ...

Advocacy groups on 21 September voiced their “strong disappointment” over the approval of the concession agreement for the controversial Don Sahong hydropower dam in Laos. Keep reading ...

The operators of Thai sand dredgers working in the Mekong River close to Khammuan province signed a document last week stating they would not continue to cross the border into Laos. Deputy Head of the Khammuan provincial Administration Office, Mr Vannavong Vongphachan, told Vientiane Times on ...

The US government has agreed to provide a grant worth 24 billion kip (US$3,026,000) to the project for supporting rural development through Unexploded Ordnance clearance in Xieng Khuang province. The grant will contribute to non-technical and technical survey and clearance of the Unexploded Ordnance clearance (UXO) ...

The Lao government is hosting the sixth International Conference and Exhibition on Water Resources and Hydropower Development in Asia, aiming to promote the balance of the role of hydropower in the world and highlight challenges. The three-day event runs from March 1-3 in Vientiane. It gathers ...

The 260-MW Don Sahong hydroelectric project is anticipated to begin construction before the end of this year after a number of agreements related to the project have been signed to guide the project’s go ahead. The Lao Ministry of Energy and Mine’s Policy and Planning Department ...

ASEAN’s ambitious open-skies scheme has clearly missed the 2015 year-end deadline, and its full implementation appears elusive. Three members of the 10-nation bloc — Indonesia, the Philippines and Laos– seem reluctant to join the scheme for full liberalisation of Southeast Asia’s aviation sector. Keep reading ...

Households in eight villages surrounding the Beung Kiat Ngong (BKN) Ramsar Wetland in Pathoumphone district, Champassak province, are benefitting from the Lower Mekong Basin Wetland Management and Conservation Project at the BKN Ramsar Site. The project works to improve livelihoods and provide jobs in local communities, ...

Vientiane plans to release an additional two million fish back into the river to meet the government’s goal of releasing 58 million fish this year to ensure food security. This was informed by the Director of Vientiane Agriculture and Forestry Department, Dr Lasay Nouanthasing, on July ...

An unusually long period of drought brought water levels to some of the lowest measurements in recent years. There are fears that the drought will have a particularly negative effect on the Tonle Sap River, connecting the Mekong to Cambodia’s Great Lake and which plays a ...