Aid and development
Japan gives boost to human resource development in Laos

The government of Japan is providing grant assistance of 308 million yen for the continuation of the Human Resource Development Scholarship Project in Laos. An agreement was signed on 4 July in Vientiane by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ms Khamphao Eunthavanh and Japanese Ambassador to Laos ...
US spending bill ties aid to end of government ‘violence’

According to a Senate report accompanying the bill, the vast majority of the recommended budget for Cambodia, $69.9 million of it, would go toward health programs and development assistance. Most of the rest would go to military education and training, demining, anti-terrorism and related programs. ...
EU funds asylum-seeking scheme in Thailand
The UN Refugee Agency has received 300,000 euros from the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department to support the refugee status determination process for asylum-seekers in Thailand. There are currently more than 2,000 refugees and more than 6,000 asylum-seekers from nearly 50 countries living ...
Observers urge Govt to create new export markets, boost trade volume

A recent World Bank report says that trade growth in Myanmar could reduce poverty and boost prosperity, but local observers say in order for that to happen the government must implement economic policies that increase export markets. The Myanmar Diagnostic Trade Integration Study released last week by the ...
EU, SIDA offer €33.1M grant for budget reform
The European Union and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency have agreed to provide a grant of €33.1 million to support the third phase of Cambodia’s Public Financial Management Reform Program, state news agency AKP announced on 24 June. Keep reading ...
Irrigation agricultural technology project boosts farmers' knowledge
Farmers have improved their methods of irrigation management and technique of rice products after the completion of a joint Japanese and Lao basic irrigation agricultural technology dissemination project recently. The project’s assessment meeting was held in Vientiane last week and was attended by the Irrigation ...
Proposal for training to enhance factory skills

Cambodia has appealed to Germany – a country renowned for its skilled technicians and engineers – to provide vocational training to support the Kingdom’s growing industrial sector, a Commerce Ministry official said on 24 June. In a meeting earlier this week, Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak ...
Cambodia’s solar sector set for bright future

The Kingdom’s ability to produce renewable energy boosted with $30m funding from Climate Investments Funds. With almost half the population of Cambodia without access to electricity, the announcement today of $30m in funding for renewable energy projects should come as welcome news. The $8.1-billion Climate Investments Funds, ...
No progress on new Vientiane-Champassak highway

One year has passed but the new Vientiane-Champassak highway survey and design has not progressed following a Chinese company signing an agreement with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. “We are now writing a letter to the company informing them that if they cannot perform ...
Businesses prefer Vietnam-EU FTA over TPP

When comparing Vietnam’s commitments within the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, businesses see bigger benefits in EVFTA, especially in government procurement. Tran Quoc Khanh, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said it was not the initial intention of Vietnam to apply ...