Government
International relations
Thai princess to visit Cambodia
Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit Cambodia next month to boost bilateral education ties between the kingdoms, a topic she has worked on since her first visit in 1992. Keep reading ...
Immigration grants new visa types
Entry into Myanmar by foreign visitors, including businesspeople, tourists and students, will get easier starting on 11 January. The Ministry of Immigration is now offering six new types of entry visa and three types of re-entry visa to international visitors effective 11 January. Keep reading ...
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 ...
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 ...
Riots keep Thai embassy in Yangon closed
The Thai embassy in Yangon has extended its closure over security concerns for its staff and Thai nationals after protests which started late last month against the Koh Tao verdict. Keep reading ...
China protests to Myanmar after landmine injures official
China said on 5 January it had lodged a protest with Myanmar after one of its border officials was blown up by a landmine after going to investigate an earlier explosion close to the frontier with the Kokang region of Shan State. A spokesperson for the Chinese ...
Three holdouts cloud ASEAN's future of open skies
ASEAN’s ambitious open-skies scheme has clearly missed the 2015 year-end deadline, and its full implementation appears elusive. Three members of the 10-nation bloc — Indonesia, the Philippines and Laos– seem reluctant to join the scheme for full liberalisation of Southeast Asia’s aviation sector. Keep reading ...
Lao businesses struggling in AEC
It is essential to improve the level of professionalism in the business sector to enable local operators to survive the rising tide of competition, leading entrepreneurs have suggested. The establishment of the ASEAN Community on 31 December, in particular the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), introduces the free flow ...
