News
No agreement on Certificate of Identity for workers in Thailand
A bilateral Thai-Myanmar meeting to resolve issues relating to migrant workers in Thailand has ended inconclusively, as the Thai negotiators have referred all matters under discussion to Bangkok for a decision. The 8 and 9 January meeting in Yangon discussed the status of the 3 million ...
Migrant activists abroad call for support from ‘oppression’
A migrant workers’ activist has called for greater support from the Myanmar government for workers overseas who, he said, faced “oppression” from foreign governments. The call came as Malaysian police arrested Myanmar demonstrators outside the Thai embassy in Kuala Lumpur on 7 January. The demonstrators were ...
China starts rice imports from Laos
The first shipment of rice imports from Laos have passed through inspection and quarantine procedures at south China’s Shenzhen port, according to local authorities. The shipment weighed 87.8 tonnes and was valued at 746 million U.S. dollars, said the Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection And Quarantine Bureau. Keep reading ...
Thailand urged to resume process to legalise migrant workers

Labour ministry officials from Thailand are due to resume talks on 8 January in Yangon with their Myanmar counterparts on the status of up to 3 million Myanmar migrant workers in the kingdom. If successful, the negotiations could lead to an agreement that would legalise the workers’ ...
ASEAN chair provides opportunities, challenges for Laos
Assuming the chairmanship of ASEAN this year offers Laos a great opportunity but the country will face numerous challenges in leading the bloc, a senior official has acknowledged. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Thongloun Sisoulith made the comment recently when speaking to Foreign ...
Brunei backs Laos' ASEAN chair preparations
The government of Brunei Darussalam has provided financial support to the Lao government as a contribution to the country’s work as the Chair of ASEAN this year. Keep reading ...
Thailand's TCC acquires Metro Vietnam for $704 million

Thai consumer goods group TCC Holding Co. Ltd has completed its acquisition of the Vietnamese operations of Metro for 655 million euros (US$704.1 million). TCC’s subsidiary TCC Land International Pte. Ltd. takes over Metro’s 19 stores and related real estate portfolio in Vietnam, the German company ...
Community sues border police over loggers
A group of villagers in Mondolkiri province filed a lawsuit this week against three local border police officers and a forestry official accusing them of allowing Vietnamese loggers to sneak across the nearby border and illegally log the forests they depend on for a living. Khut ...
Labour rights groups surveyed ahead of meeting with Thailand
Myanmar labour officials are courting rights groups ahead of scheduled meetings with Thai counterparts later in the week. The consultation with local experts on 7 January will take place just before Thai officials land in Yangon for bilateral meetings on 8 and 9 January aimed at sorting ...
Vietnam bans leasing land inside Cambodia

Vietnam has agreed to ban its citizens from leasing land in Cambodia to avoid increasing tensions along the border following a request from Prime Minister Hun Sen, according to Interior Minister Sar Kheng. Kheng on 6 January said that Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had agreed ...