News
Despite Efforts to Stamp Out Corruption, Laos Remains Corrupt
Laos continues to struggle with rampant corruption despite recent efforts to eliminate it from the halls of government, according to the country’s State Audit Organization (SAO). At a Lao National Assembly meeting earlier this month, the organization reported massive losses resulting from under-the-table deals made by ...
Xayaboury earthquake damage estimated at 2 billion kip
Damage to property in Hongsa and Xaysathan districts of Xayaboury province has been estimated at over 2 billion kip after at least 300 families were affected by an earthquake last week. Director of the province’s Labour and Social Welfare Department, Mr Nouphone Xaypanyachith, said two earthquakes ...
Course organisers assess scheme to provide rural women with job skills
The Lao Women’s Union and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family have joined forces to provide vocational training for Lao women, to improve their job prospects. A meeting to discuss the management of the project took place on Friday at the Lao ...
Lao National Assembly endorses report on land concessions
The National Assembly on Tuesday approved the results of a report on inspections into land rental and concessions granted to developers. After hearing the report, Assembly members exchanged views on the subject with some saying there must be clearly-defined measures to penalise contract violators in line ...
Vientiane Times
Chinese top political advisor visits Laos to promote bilateral cooperation, boost ties
Chinese top political advisor Wang Yang paid an official visit to Laos from Nov. 16 to 19, calling for implementation of consensus reached by leaders of the two parties and two countries to further enhance bilateral relations. During his four-day stay in the southeastern Asian country, ...
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam may face severe drought
Severe to extreme drought is expected to hit the four lower Mekong River Basin countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam from now until January, threatening agricultural production, experts warned Tuesday. The Mekong River Commission, in a statement, said the drought has so far brought the ...
China-Laos railway project brings Lao, Chinese people closer
An aerial view from the China-Laos border to the capital Vientiane reveals a ruled, comparatively straight line embedded into northern Laos, laid among the foothills, crossing gullies, rivers and fields, and with small arcs bypassing villages. It’s the China-Laos railway project, a landmark construction project in ...
Zhang Jianhua, Wang Shan
Regional network to strengthen agriculture in Laos
A workshop on “Network for Agriculture and Rural Development Think-tanks for Countries in the Mekong sub-region” provided a platform for stakeholders to discuss their work plans. The workshop took place on Wednesday and was chaired by the Deputy Director General of the National Agriculture and Forestry ...
Major new project to use nature-based solutions to help Laos adapt to climate change
The Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a major funder of climate projects, has approved a US$10 million project that’s expected to benefit 10 per cent of Laos’ population. The project is using nature-based solutions in four cities to build resilience towards ever-increasing floods ...
Stakeholders Question Farness of MRC’s Impact Assessment for Laos’ Luangprabang Dam
Stakeholders are concerned about the legitimacy of the multinational approval process for Laos’ Luangprabang hydropower project, after recommendations to lower the environmental impact were raised, but few were accepted during a meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) last week in Vientiane. The meeting was held ...
