News
Thailand to go it alone on Thai-Sino high-speed rail
Thailand has decided to wholly invest in the Thai-Sino railway project after it failed to agree in talks with China on the terms of the arrangement which has set back progress for months. Keep reading ...
Lancang-Mekong leaders agree to pursue peaceful, prosperous region
Leaders from the six countries along the Lancang-Mekong River agreed on 23 March in China’s Hainan province to join forces to build a peaceful and prosperous community, the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said, and has reached the agreement at the first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting ...
Mekong Basin nations advised to step up disease surveillance
The six Mekong Basin countries convened in Vientiane on 23 March to discuss ways to increase their cooperation in disease surveillance, especially in border areas, to curb the spread of infectious diseases. Representatives from Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam attended the Mekong Basin Disease ...
Leaders of Mekong nations urged to consider environment at summit
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will chair the meeting in Sanya on 23 March, which will also involve the leaders of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. They will discuss the formulation of initiatives and measures under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. At Wednesday’s meeting the discussion will focus on a ...
Laos, Vietnam eye bilateral trade of US$3 billion by 2020
The Lao and Vietnamese governments agreed on 16 March to increase the two countries’ bilateral import-export turnover to US$3 billion by 2020, the Vietnam News reported on 17 March. The agreement was reached during talks between Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung ...
Laos moves forward as logistics hub
Laos is moving forward to position itself as a logistics hub in the region as the landlocked country continues on its path to become a land-link in the region and build further trade connections internationally. Logistical improvements are part of the government’s strategic development plan to ...
Facing Mekong drought, China to release water from Yunnan dam
China has promised to discharge water from a dam along the Lancang River (better known as the Mekong) to help alleviate drought conditions in Southeast Asia. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang announced on 15 March in a regular press conference that China will release water from ...
Laos, Vietnam celebrate border demarcation, maintenance project completion
The governments of Laos and Vietnam marked the completion of the border demarcation and maintenance of border markers project at a ceremony held on 16 March in Hanoi, Vietnam. Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong led a high-level Lao delegation at the event, according to a press release from ...
Cargo giants call on Sihanoukville port
As Cambodia’s sole deep-sea port in Sihanoukville looks to increase its presence on global shipping routes, the decision by two major Chinese shipping companies six months ago to call at the port has seen mixed results, with one firm already dropping out due to low ...
Vaccine against dengue '100% effective' in test
An experimental vaccine against dengue, the world’s most common mosquito-borne virus, was 100% effective in early trials in Miami, and could speed up the pace of a vaccine against Zika, researchers said on 16 March. Dengue, which is in the same family of flaviviruses as Zika ...
