Aid and development
Bilateral development assistance
Japan funds outreach activities for Legal Documentation Center
The Japanese government has approved more than $250,000 to support the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s Legal Documentation Centre to conduct its outreach activities. According to a press release issued yesterday, the Japanese government approved $251,970 to support the LDC, including the establishment of mobile outreach unit, consisting ...
Mom Kunthear
Time to push China for real Mekong partnership
The Asean summit offers a great opportunity for Mekong riparian countries to press China, a major dialogue partner, on commitments for sustainable development of the region’s most important river. Leading the Chinese delegation is Premier Li Keqiang. He is to meet our prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ...
Nauvarat Suksamran
Japan pouring US$17.8 million into Luang Prabang water supply upgrade
The Japanese government is funding a grant aid project worth US$17.8 million to improve the water supply system in Luang Prabang city, under a grant agreement signed in Vientiane on Thursday. The agreement was signed by the Director General of the Department of International Cooperation of ...
Myanmar to use US$1 billion loan for infrastructure projects
Economic development, agriculture, electricity, and infrastructure projects will be the focus of a framework for loans between South Korea and Myanmar. On September 3, Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations U Thaung Tun and South Korea’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Ms Kang Kyung-wha signed ...
Thiha Ko Ko
Laos, S. Korea to strengthen close ties
President Bounnhang Vorachit and his counterpart President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Moon Jae-in met for important talks in Vientiane on Thursday, when they reaffirmed their strong commitment to enhancing the two countries’ relations and expanding cooperation. The meeting of the top Lao and South ...
India to Include Laos in Planned Global Electricity Grid
India is poised to include Laos in plans for a global electricity grid, in response to an evolving energy security architecture. The country will present proposals for the grid at the second general assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to be held in New Delhi from October ...
Cambodia’s rice farmers in serious danger
Half a million Cambodian farmers could possibly be looking at empty rice bowls if the European Union (EU) pushes through with the withdrawal of its Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preference. While the garment and footwear sectors stand to lose the most if the EBA trade scheme – ...
Jason Thomas
Silk Road sweeteners: China woos Myanmar's NLD with junkets
The National League for Democracy was forged in an uprising against one-party rule. Its activists spent years in jail under Myanmar’s military junta. But since taking power three years ago, the party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has found an unlikely ally ...
Shoon Naing and Simon Lewis
EU stumps up $11mln for Greater Mekong wildlife conservation
The European Union (EU) has teamed up with wildlife and conservation groups in the Greater Mekong region, Malaysia, and China to try and disrupt the flow of illegally trafficked wildlife through the region. The €10 million (about $11.14 million) project which will run through until December ...
Sreypov Men
China’s Push to Control the Mekong River a “Troubling Trend”
The United States has expressed concern over Chinese dam building, dredging and other activities on the Mekong River in Southeast Asia, calling them “troubling trends.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with ministers from lower Mekong River countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The foreign ministers of ...