Government

Mandalay City’s municipal authority is staring at a long development to-do list, and a lack of funds to do it with, the mayor told regional lawmakers last week. Improving Myanmar’s second-biggest city will depend on finances, U Ye Lwin, mayor and head of Mandalay City Development ...

China has signed an agreement to assist the Kingdom with judicial reforms and to share expertise in overhauling such systems, though one international expert on September 27 cautioned that China shouldn’t be considered “a model for justice reform in Cambodia”. Under the five-year agreement, signed on September ...

Myanmar’s leading garment industry body has been buoyed by the lifting of sanctions it hopes will see a return to the glory days for the sector, when in the early 2000s a majority of country’s garments were shipped to the US. Speaking at a manufacturing trade ...

The official visit to Vietnam by Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte from September 28-29 is expected to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, especially in politics, security, defence, and economics. This is President Duterte’s first visit to Vietnam and his fourth foreign trip since ...

The government has further pursued the national development policy and mainstreamed the Sustainable Development Goals into its 8th five-year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2016-2020), the Development Strategy 2025, and Vision 2030. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith outlined the government’s stance on the SDGs at the 71st Session ...

Việt Nam and South Korea began the 15th session of the Joint Economic Committee on September 22, with talks focusing on ways to boost cooperation and address pending issues. Deputy minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Thế Phương said the two countries had made significant achievements ...

Laos, Thailand and Malaysia concluded a deal on September 21 which will see Malaysia buy 100 MW of electricity from Laos via Thailand’s power grid. Top energy officials of the three countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the sidelines of the 34th ASEAN Ministers on Energy ...

The Lao Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam have reached cooperation agreements in relation to the development of telecommunications and information communication technology. A signing ceremony in relation to the cooperation agreements took place in Vientiane on September ...

  Faring poorly on an international passport index, Vietnam possesses one of the least powerful passports in the region. Ranking 74th on the World Economic Forum’s Passport Index, Vietnam, together with Cambodia, possesses one of the least powerful passports in Southeast Asia. Citizens from the two countries can visit ...

Over US$1 billion has been disbursed in various business activities and the development of special and specific economic zones, driven by growing regional economic integration. Almost 300 companies from Laos and overseas are now investing in the SEZs, with a total registered capital of almost US$8 ...