The Vientiane Times

New Zealand will provide US$7.2 million, one of the biggest single contributions made through the United Nations Development Programme, to Laos’ UXO sector. The funding will include trialling innovative New Zealand technology which destroys unexploded ordnance by melting casings without having to dig up or ...

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon September 8 inaugurated the Lao PDR’s own national Sustainable Development Goal on unexploded ordnance during the ongoing ASEAN Summits. The SDGs have been drawn up by the United Nations as targets for developing countries. Goal No. 18, which ...

Laos and Japan have agreed on a joint development direction for Laos with the two countries joining forces to remove the landlocked nation from Least Developed Country status. The agreement came at a high-level bilateral meeting held in Vientiane on September 6 led by the heads of ...

Leaders meeting at the 28th ASEAN Summit in Vientiane on September 6 adopted the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025. Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Saleumxay Kommasith, who is Chair of the ASEAN Coordinating Council that oversees connectivity matters for the regional body, said the Master ...

Modern machines and technical skills are required to enhance the competitiveness of the Lao timber processing industry in line with other countries in the region. Chairman of the Okawa Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Japan, Mr Yuji Sonoda made the observation during an interview with Vientiane ...

The United States announced on September 6th it would provide an additional US$90 million over the next three years to help Laos clear unexploded ordnance which has continued to kill and injure people since bombs rained down on the country during the Indochina War. The extra assistance ...

The government has ordered some 1,154 family-unit furniture plants across the country to shut down their illegal operations, a government spokesman announced on September 1. Additionally, more than 20 wood processing plants located in or near conservation and protected forests areas were also ordered to close ...

Rural development and poverty eradication in Laos could face many challenges in the coming years before getting better in the long term, according to the National Committee for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication. The challenges include unexpected developments and the fact that regional and international integration ...

A new community fisheries project in the Mekong River was launched in Vientiane on August 28 with the Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry agreeing to cooperate with the Worldwide Fund for Nature. A memorandum of understanding was signed by the DLF’s Deputy ...

Policy makers have called for recognition of lands which local people have inherited from their parents, despite land titles having not been issued for those lands. They made the calls as policy makers from various organisations shared opinions to improve and finalise the Draft National Land ...