Japan injects 23b kip to promote education in Laos
The government of Japan recently provided more than 23 billion kip (JPY 310 million) through the Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) for education assistance in Laos. The scholarship funds will be provided to government officials across the country to upgrade their knowledge ...
Vientiane Times
IMF unveils Lao economic projection
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Laos’ economic growth will remain strong this year, with the under-construction Laos-China railway seen as one of the main driving forces of growth.The global financial institution unveiled the economic forecast for Laos on ...
Ekaphone Phouthonesy
Indonesian embassy promotes Indonesian investment in Laos
Jakarta, (ANTARA News) – The Indonesian Embassy in Vientiane held an investment forum to encourage Indonesian businessmen to invest in Laos, according to a statement from the embassy received by Antara here Tuesday.More ...
Yuni Arisandy
Fifth Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge over 30 percent complete
Construction of the fifth Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge linking Borikhamxay province to Bueng Kan province in Thailand across the Mekong River is now 32 percent complete. The project consists of two components: the first concerns the construction of the bridge across the Mekong River and the ...
Times Reporters
Thailand Agrees to Vaccinate Migrant Workers Against Covid-19
According to a notice issued by the Lao Embassy to Thailand, Thai authorities have agreed to facilitate vaccinations for foreigners, including Lao migrant workers in Thailand.The notice states that vaccines will be first be administered to priority groups, including people over 60 years of age and people ...
Phayboune Thanabouasy
EU, French Red Cross provide 1.67b kip to reduce disaster risks
The European Union and French Red Cross donated some 191,900 euro or more than 1.67 billion kip to the Lao Red Cross on January 18 to scale up Community Based Disaster Risk Management and school safety in five villages of Yommalath district, Khammuan province. The Memorandum ...
Local radio needs to innovate and streamline operations
Domestic radio stations have to seek ways to make their operations more efficient while adapting to competition from new media. These issues were tabled for discussion at a meeting of Lao National Radio held on February 16 to review the past year’s performance concerning programme content, ...
Luang Prabang Engulfed in Toxic Smoke as Landfill Fire Gets Out of Control
Authorities in Luang Prabang expect that it will take longer to extinguish the fire at a landfill in Lak 8 village amid ongoing forest fires due to slash-and-burn agriculture being practiced across the province.Vientiane Mai reports that a fire broke out at a landfill on 13 February ...
Manyphone Vongphachanh
What Lies Ahead for Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Trilateral Security Cooperation?
Last month, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam carried out the first-ever iteration of a joint rescue drill between them, an exercise that was years in the works. Though the interaction was just one of many developments within the ties between these three mainland Southeast Asian countries, ...
Prashanth Parameswaran
US$692 million loan secured to finance region’s largest wind farm in Laos
A developer has signed a US$692 million loan agreement to finance the 600MW “Monsoon Wind Power Project” in Laos, the largest in Southeast Asia, according to media reports.Thailand-based Impact Electrons Siam Limited (IES), Asia-Pacific’s leading renewable energy solutions provider, as the developer of the project ...
Times Reporters
Laos’ Garment Industry Faces Severe Labor Shortage
Garment factories in Laos are experiencing labor shortages as workers are looking to Thailand for greener pastures, sources say.A factory manager in the capital Vientiane who requested anonymity told RFA’s Lao Service earlier this month, “According to [results] of a survey we need about 10,000 ...
RFA's Lao Service
Nam Ou hydropower project developed by Chinese firm in Laos starts full operation
A ceremony was held here on Tuesday to start the full power generation of all seven plants of the Nam Ou River Cascade Hydropower Project developed by Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina). The power generation ceremony was held simultaneously by video conference in PowerChina’s ...
Xinhua
Public advised to avoid unnecessary travel, to save fuel for agriculture
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Lao Fuel and Gas Association are urging members of the public to be frugal in their use of fuel and not to travel unnecessarily, so that enough reserves of petrol are available for use for farming and ...
Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
Fishermen call for river pollution to be addressed
Members of a large fishing community in Naxab village, Naxaithong district, Vientiane, are appealing to authorities to address the problem of farms dumping animal waste in the Khon River, which they say is creating a threat to fishing.The polluted river affects some 1,648 people who ...
Times Reporters
Lao gov’t gives green light to PetroTrade for Laos-Vietnam railway development
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Lao government has entrusted and given the right to the Petroleum Trading Lao Public Company (PetroTrade) to conduct a feasibility study on the Laos-Vietnam Railway Project, from Thakhaek district in Khammuan province, Laos, to the Vietnamese border.The Ministry of Planning ...
News Desk
China-indebted Laos way more broke than advertised
Laos’ public debt could climb to nearly 95% of GDP by the end of 2022, making it one of the most heavily indebted and mostly likely to default nations in Asia, according to World Bank estimates published this month.Significantly, the World Bank’s already dire debt ...
DAVID HUTT
Laos, Switzerland sign agreement to cement development cooperation
Laos and Switzerland have signed an agreement to enhance their bilateral longstanding ties and cooperation, during an official two-day visit to Laos by the Swiss Vice President Mr Ignazio Cassis. The agreement aims to deepen cooperation in the areas of employment and vocational training, agriculture ...
Times Reporters
Flood protection embankment to be built in Hadxaifong
Construction of a 30-km embankment along the Mekong River starting near the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge in Vientiane will soon begin. The flood protection levy will run from the Vientiane-Nong Khai Friendship Bridge downstream through Huaymarkhia village to Dongphoudy and Thamuang villages in Hadxaifong district. The project, known ...
National workshop mulls progress in women's rights
Members of the Lao Women’s Union and UN Women Asia-Pacific as well as Lao and foreign officials met on February 1 at the launch of the national workshop on Transforming Economies and Realising Women’s Rights. The purpose of the workshop was to report on women’s ...
Nation sets sights on trade policy improvement
Laos will continue to be active in improving its regulations and work plan to adapt to the World Trade Organisation rules after the country became a member in 2013. Despite Laos’ membership status, there are still many issues which need to be improved in order ...