Lao government muted representatives to ASEAN people's forum
Laos’ representatives attending a meeting of civil society organizations that is held each year during the ASEAN summit said little about human rights issues inside their own authoritarian country because they were selected by the government in Vientiane, sources tell RFA. “Most Lao representatives are selected ...
Two Malaysian firms plan agarwood venture in Laos
Two Malaysian companies plan to invest US$18 million (RM79 million) for the inoculation of agarwood in Laos that is expected to generate US$200 million in three years. Agriculture transaction company Aseagate (M) Sdn Bhd, forestry management company Richwood Capital Sdn Bhd, together with non-governmental organisation Global ...
In Laos, price of free speech a heavy one
The imprisonment of Houayheuang “Muay” Xayabouly, a young, female Lao environmentalist turned internet activist who simply asked for help for flood victims, should be a matter of deep concern to the international community. On Sept 5, 2018, Muay used her 17-minute-long Facebook Live broadcast to counter ...
Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal & Adam Bemma
Auditor proposes tax exemption review
The State Audit Organisation (SAO) has proposed that the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Customs review tax exemptions and provide detailed accounts of the implemented financial measures. The proposal was included in the audit report, as part of the final implementation report of the 2013-2014 state ...
Malaysia leads top foreign investors in Champassak province
Malaysia tops the list of investors in Champassak province during the last nine months of this year, which covered 37 percent of all foreign investment in the province. This was as reported by Provincial Governor Dr. Bounthong Divixay when he and Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Sonexay ...
Fair boosts market opportunities for Vientiane farmers, producers
Farmers and producers in Vientiane hope to expand their markets after the government arranged a fair to promote their products and boost sales. The Lao Agricultural and Domestic Products Fair took place last weekend in the Lao-ITECC parking lot. The fair was organised by the Vientiane Administration ...
Vientiane Times
NUOL receives funding for environmental protection activities
The Environmental Protection Fund has agreed to provide over US$2 million in support of environmental protection activities in three faculties of Environmental Sciences, Natural Sciences and of Economics and Business Administration. The fund is aimed at broadening the knowledge of students and lecturers on the management ...
Khammuan sets three-month deadline for illegal foreign workers
Khammuan provincial authorities has given three months for illegal foreign workers who failed to meet the necessary conditions to apply to work legally in Laos to clear up all their things and leave the country, a senior provincial official has said. The decision was part of ...
The Lao National Assembly refocuses attention on the issue of corruption
On June 14, members of the Lao National Assembly stood up, one after another, and recounted cases of bribery, embezzlement and corruption within the country’s courts and political system. Members described how courts routinely reversed decisions, revisiting judgements after receiving letters in favour of the accused, even after ...
Laos is on course to graduate from least developed country status
Past policies that have enabled Laos to meet the UN’s least developed country (LDC) graduation thresholds are no longer adequate to ensure sustainable development. The focus of future policies should be on fostering greater productive capacity, increased economic diversification and enabling a stronger business environment. The ...
Buavanh Vilavong and Sitthiroth Rasphone
Party leader proud of accomplishments
Despite rapid and complex changes in the world, Laos has been able to accomplish its socio-economic development plans over the past five years (2011-15) under the leadership of the Party. Secretary General of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of the Laos, Mr Choummaly Sayasone, ...
ADB reviews public communications policy
The governments and private stakeholders of Laos, Thailand and Cambodia have now jointly consulted through videoconference, proposals for the Asian Development Bank’s most recent public communications policy review.The Asian Development Bank held the meeting on June 8 welcoming stakeholders including government and private sector counterparts, executing ...
Illegal wildlife trade thriving
Despite concerted efforts by officials to prevent the illegal trade in wildlife through regular inspections in markets around the country, the trade is still flourishing unchecked. While the government is working to preserve aquatic animals and wildlife and protected areas, the sight of wild fauna for ...
Ministry draws up plan to inspect dams every five years
Laos is preparing a nationwide hydropower inspection procedure which will be carried out every five years to ensure safety and the maintenance of standards. Director General of the Department of Energy Management, Ministry of Energy and Mines, Mr Bouathep Malaykham, told Vientiane Times on Tuesday that in ...
Khonesavanh Latsaphao
UN rights envoy says Laos focus on big projects hurting poor
The U.N. rapporteur on poverty, Philip Alston, said Thursday that Laos’ impoverished economy can only thrive if its leaders do a better job of educating and caring for all of its people. The current strategy of favoring big-ticket projects with Chinese investors and granting big ...
Xebangfay River overflows again
Residents near the Xebangfay River between the two provinces of Khammuan and Savannakhet are still being spared from the flooding which has started since the river began overflowing on 21 July. A Xebangfay district official Mr Sisomphone Innoula told Vientiane Times that the four branches of ...
EU gives boost to nutrition, food security in Xekong
The European Union is assisting the Laos Partnerships for Poverty Reduction and Women’s Empowerment Project in Dakcheung district, Xekong province, with a view to ensuring that children have access to nutritious food. As with other EU funded nutrition and food security projects in many provinces across ...
Environmentalists urge Laos to scrap 'destructive' Mekong dam plans
Environmentalists have urged Laos not to proceed with the construction of another “destructive” dam on the Mekong River, a vital Southeast Asian waterway that sustains about 60 million people. Last week, Laos’ communist government announced plans for the Sanakham dam – close to the northeastern border ...
Nicola Smith
Laos gets plugged in
Laos is not exactly a heavy hitter in Southeast Asian energy production. Each year, the country produces approximately 8.2 billion kWh of electricity, less than one-tenth the generation capacity enjoyed by Vietnam and other neighbors. But this country of 6.77 million is nonetheless taking on strategic importance as ...
Laos, EU seek more effective poverty reduction
Laos and its development partner the European Union have sought ways to strengthen their cooperation on the implementation of focal work to ensure more effective results from projects in Laos. Keep reading ...
