Aid and development
Govt defends Junta order to push development projects

The Thai Junta’s latest order looks set to speed up 62 development projects in Thailand as it allows key preparations for implementation pending a proper environmental impact assessment (EIA). Various government figures on 10 March chorused that the order, issued by the National Council for Peace and ...
Lao official thanks Vietnamese aid
Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith said the support Laos received from the Vietnamese Supreme People’s Procuracy will help the nation successfully host the upcoming 10th ASEAN-China Procurators General Conference. Keep reading ...
Lao Govt, UN review development progress
The Lao government is keen to cooperate with its development partners to fulfil the priorities of the 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2016-20 in view of its implications for graduation from Least Developed Country status. To ensure that the government achieves its development goals, the ...
Vietnam leaders applaud WB support of local development

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung expressed appreciation for the WB’s co-operation in Vietnam’s socio-economic development, especially in poverty reduction and sustainable development as he met with World Bank (WB) Group President, Jim Yong Kim, in Hanoi on 23 February. He also spoke highly of the ...
Laos aims for further strides in poverty reduction
Laos will further mobilise all of its untapped potential and step up cooperation with all stakeholders, backed by support from friendly countries, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The fight against poverty was the main focus of the Millennium Development Goals and continues to remain ...
Magical Laotian town preserved by UNESCO

It is officially described as the best-preserved city in Southeast Asia, a bygone seat of kings tucked into a remote river valley of Laos. Luang Prabang weaves a never-never land spell on many a visitor with its tapestry of French colonial villas and Buddhist temples draped ...
Australians pledge continued support for child development
Australians have pledged to continue their support for child development in Laos with a focus on strengthening the quality of primary education. This was the message given by Australian Ambassador to Laos John Williams and officials from Plan International Australia at a reception held on 18 ...
Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar in line for US$180m loan
The Climate-Friendly Agribusiness Value Chains Sector Project will provide a US$180 million loan to finance initiatives in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar to boost the capacity of commercial production in the three countries. A senior official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Mr Vinoth Vansy, told ...
Lao people fighting for change 'deserve better than silence'

Anne-Sophie Gindroz, a former Swiss humanitarian worker in Laos, observed forced displacement and evictions of rural populations to make way for dams and other controversial infrastructure and plantation projects in the impoverished Southeast Asian country. Gindroz, who was the country director for Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, ...
Seven community-based tourism projects planned in Myanmar

Myanmar’s first community-based tourism (CBT) project, one of seven planned, is up and running in Magway region, much to the delight of local residents. At a recent launch event here, community leader San Htun said the members of four villages joining the scheme threw full support ...