National government
Ministries and other national bodies
New Speaker flags human rights focus
Mandalay witnessed a distinct changing of guard on 8 February as its new hluttaw took office, with the newly appointed Speaker stressing the importance of being accountable to the public. He added that human rights and economic and social development will be priorities, and promised to ...
Mid-term public investment need estimated at almost $495m
Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction has completed its mid-term public investment for 2016-2020 under the Law on Public Investment to submit to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Under the plan, total public investment need for the period is estimated at nearly VND11 trillion (US$495 million), equal to ...
Lao officials discuss preparations for ASEAN meetings
Preparations for the 20th Senior Official Committee for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (SOCA) and the 15th ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council (ASCC) were on track, according to the concerned authority. Lao Senior Officials for SOCA and ASCC led by Mass Media Department Director General of the Ministry of Information, Culture ...
Stimulus stuck in slow lane
Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak’s appointment at the economic helm late last August was followed by rapid-fire launches of stimulus measures to revive the slowing economy. Measures worth more than 400 billion baht were announced but disbursement of the funds was slow, snagged by red tape. ...
Lao army marks 67th anniversary
Maintaining loyalty to the nation, Party and people while pursuing national development and defence remains the goal of the Lao People’s Army. Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Sengnouan Xayalath gave this message at a meeting held in Vientiane yesterday to commemorate the army’s 67th anniversary this ...
Laos undergoes Communist Party leadership change
The Lao Communist Party has undergone a change in leadership during its 10th Party Congress, signaling the country’s future direction as it prepares to chair the Association of South East Asian Nations. The move came ahead of a visit to Laos by U.S. Secretary of ...
Laos moves towards industrialisation
Laos is now moving towards industrialisation and modernisation after experiencing a slight increase in the share that the industrial and service sectors represent in the overall economic structure. In contrast, the agriculture and forestry sector has declined significantly in the past decade as a result of ...
Ministries to be trimmed for ‘efficiency’ under next government
Hoping to reduce bureaucratic red tape, the National League for Democracy revealed that it will slash ministries when it takes control of the government in two months. The ministries have been rushing to compile progress reports with an eye toward easing the transition. But the flurry ...
Ex-manager of ThaiHealth named Thai PBS chief
The Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) has appointed a former manager of Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) as its new chief. Two-thirds of the nine-member ThaiPBS policy committee voted Krissada Raungarreerat in as the new director-general of Thailand’s first public broadcasting service. The panel had ...
Finance ministry weighs in on controversial dairy back taxes of $30 million
Eight dairy importers and producers in Vietnam may be able to escape back taxesof VND700 billion (US$30.69 million) in a controversial case of import tariff calculations that even officials cannot see eye to eye on. The businesses, including Vinamilk and Dutch-owned FrieslandCampina, said they have imported an ...
