Government
Vietnam cancels water pipe deal with China supplier over quality concern
State-owned construction firm Vinaconex has backed out of a deal to use pipes from a Chinese company to fix an unreliable water supply system in Hanoi amid concerns over the quality of the replacement. Viwasupco, the water utility subsidiary of Vinaconex, said in a new statement ...
Lao government muted representatives to ASEAN people's forum
Laos’ representatives attending a meeting of civil society organizations that is held each year during the ASEAN summit said little about human rights issues inside their own authoritarian country because they were selected by the government in Vientiane, sources tell RFA. “Most Lao representatives are selected ...
ASEAN and the EEU: close to free trade zone?
ASEAN and EEU member countries are estimated to have a combined GDP of $3.5 trillion and a combined population of over 700 million. On August 5, Russian media outlets quoted Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev as saying that an agreement had been reached ...
World Bank loan will not be used for govt salary increases, says president’s office spokesperson
Government employees’ salaries will not increase despite plans to take out a loan worth US$100 million from the World Bank, aimed at covering a state deficit by separating salaries from the budget, according to government officials. Myanmar’s President Htin Kyaw sent a message on August 5 ...
GMS cross-border pact on hold
Though all countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region had signed a cross-border trade agreement 14 years ago to enhance the sub-region’s economic connectivity, the CBTA, however, is yet to be ratified in individual Mekong nations for its full implementation. This was revealed last week by ...
China offers to work with partners to build East Asian infrastructure
China is willing to work with all parties to build roads, railway lines, air and sea route networks in East Asia to improve regional connectivity and trade flows, Commerce Minister GaoHucheng said on August 4. These goals can be achieved through the cooperative framework of ...
Cambodia pushing for more benefits from Mekong integration
The government is seeking to develop ways of increasing the benefit felt by Cambodia from economic corridors opened throughout the Greater Mekong Subregion as part of ASEAN integration, an official has said. The economic corridors are intended to spur economic integration in ASEAN and boost infrastructure ...
Vietnam doctors train Cambodians in hematopoietic stem cell transplant
The Ho Chi Minh City Blood Transfusion Hematology Hospital has begun a training course in hematopoietic stem cell transplant for Cambodia’s Calmette Hospital. Dr Sok Sothea of Calmette said a team of three doctors, two nurses and a technician would attend the five-month course that has ...
CLMV nations to partner in tourism, banking
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen their cooperation in promoting their countries as a single tourism destination. The countries’ leaders agreed on their tourism partnership during the “Four Countries, One Destination” conference held in Yangon, Myanmar, on July 31 under the ...
Major drug smuggling group smashed by Safe Mekong operation
One of the five major drug smuggling groups operating in the region has been crushed and its 26 networks destroyed by the Safe Mekong Joint Operation, Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya announced on Wednesday.Gen Paiboon was briefing the media on progress in the third phase of ...