Earlier this week, Lao announced a year-long plan to draw more Chinese tourists to the country through its Visit Laos-China Year 2019. The campaign is expected to be launched either late January, or during the Chinese New Year week-long holiday between 2 to 9 February. It’s also possible that it could even be launched on Chinese New Year day itself on 5 February. Lao’s tourism sector has a lot of potential.
Until 1953, Lao PDR was a French colony. Following a successful overthrow of the country’s monarchy in the mid-seventies by communist forces, Lao PDR then spent years in isolation.
Following Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s surprise victory in Malaysia’s 14th general election on 9 May, which was widely seen as a step forward for democracy, analysts and heads of government worldwide are now turning their eyes to the rest of the region in anticipation of similar political reversals.Mahathir Mohamad, who led a coalition of opposition parties dubbed the Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) to victory against the incumbent National Front (Barisan Nasional) party, based a larg
With globalisation in full force, more and more Southeast Asian countries are beginning to realise the importance of economic cooperation for the sake of economic growth.
In the olden days, women across Lao PDR inherited their weaving skills from their mothers, mostly for their own use. Weaving was also a communal activity, allowing for social interaction with other women in their communities. With the advent of mass-produced industrial textiles, the traditional art of silk and cotton weaving has been pushed back mainly into the domain of healing rituals and ceremonial purposes.
At the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Hanoi last month, Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister of Lao PDR acknowledged the recent devastation caused by a hydroelectric dam failure in his country and added that his government would proceed with caution with regards to future hydroelectric investments. Often touted as the “Battery of Southeast Asia,” Lao has 46 operating hydroelectric power plants and intends to almost double that number by 2020.
In 2015, the world’s leaders came together to pledge the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda is a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity through global partnership. Built on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for 2000-2015, it is monitored against a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In serving as the "Battery of Asia" to its power-hungry neighbours, Lao PDR is cramming dozens of dams onto its network of rivers. With 46 currently operating hydropower plants with a capacity of 6,400 megawatt (MW), and another 54 under construction and set to start operating by 2020, Lao PDR targets the generation of a whopping 28,000 MW of power in just two years.
Hundreds still remain unaccounted for in the thick mud and flood waters of Attapeu and Champasak, two provinces in southern Lao PDR where the failure of an auxiliary dam sent a torrent of water gushing down on 13 villages downstream. The result was utter devastation as whole villages were submerged in a sea of sludge leaving survivors to clamber onto available rooftops and tree branches.
Mountainous and landlocked Lao PDR, known as the "Battery of Asia", is building dozens of dams at breakneck speed so it can sell energy to power-hungry neighbours as a fast track out of poverty.But the communist country's ambitious power plans are highly controversial.
Hundreds are missing and an unknown number feared dead after a partly built hydropower dam in southeast Lao PDR collapsed after heavy rain and sent a wall of water surging through six villages, state media and contractors said Tuesday.Laos News Agency said the accident happened on Monday evening near the border with Cambodia, releasing five billion cubic metres of water - more than two million Olympic swimming pools.The agency said there were "several human lives claimed, and several hun
The Mekong is Southeast Asia’s lifeblood, pumping life into some of the region’s biggest cities. It is the seventh longest river in Asia and the 12th longest in the world. The 4,350-kilometre river runs from the Tibetan Plateau through China’s Yunnan Province, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Mekong is important to the region for a number of reasons. First, it acts as an important fishery resource for the countries it flows through.
