Lao Morning News Roundup For February 22

Welcome to the Lao PDR morning news roundup by AEC News Today, your one stop for Lao PDR news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities.

Ministry strives to address deficiencies
Being stricter around planning, financial discipline and the construction of high quality infrastructure at reasonable costs are some of the targets that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport would like to reach in the coming years.
— Vientiane Times

Laos still faces chemical management issues
Laos is currently facing a variety of chemical management issues due to a shortage of a full set of regulations, adequate knowledge, the proper equipment and a satisfactory budget.
— Vientiane Times

Laos, Development Partners Evaluate Compliance with International Health Regulations
The Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, met in Vientiane on Tuesday Feb 21 to discuss the assessment of Laos’ capacity under International Health Regulations (2005).
— Lao News Agency

Laos’ Pak Beng Dam Proposal Under Scrutiny
Members of Mekong River Commission and civil society groups will be heading to Luang Prabang in Laos to attend the regional stakeholder meeting on Wednesday to discuss Laos’ proposal to build a third dam on the Mekong mainstream, the Pak Beng.
— VOA

Border row amid state visit by Laos
Lao President Bounnhang Vorachith is expected to arrive in Phnom Penh today for a state visit to the Kingdom. Meanwhile 600 kilometres away, Cambodian and Lao troops remain in a stand-off after a territorial dispute over a Cambodian-built road near the countries’ border.
— Phnom Penh Post

Laos agrees to consider Thailand’s request for actions against lese majeste suspects
Army Chief Gen Chalermchai Sitthisart said Laos has agreed to consider Thailand’s proposal to help tackle Thai criminals including anti-monarchy dissidents in its territory.
— The Nation

Fish deaths in Houayxai caused by fenpropathrin
The Ministry of Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment’s Department of Pollution Control confirmed on Feb 21 that fish found floating dead in the Nam Ngao sanctuary, Houayxai District, Bokeo Province had resulted from the use of hazardous chemical called “Fenpropathrin”.
— Lao News Agency

Laos to fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property
Laos highly respects its obligations to protect cultural heritage, in particular its movable cultural heritage, after the country accepted the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the illicit trafficking of cultural property at the end of 2015.
— Vientiane Times

Project reviews progress of basic education
The steering committee of Basic Education Quality and Access in Laos programme (BEQUAL) met yesterday to review progress on the implementation of the project and discussed the BEQUAL plan 2017.
— Vientiane Times

Saravan to Focus on Developing Tourist Sites for Visit Laos 2018
Saravan Province will soon focus on the development of tourist sites and the improvement of tourism infrastructure facilities to prepare to welcome Visit Laos 2018.
— Lao News Agency

Vietcombank to open subsidiaries in Laos, Cambodia
The Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, one of the country’s four largest State-owned commercial banks, plans to open subsidiaries in Laos and Cambodia this year, a bank official has said.
— Vietnam.net

Farmers Transplant Rice Crops on over 125,000 ha so far this dry season
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has reported that over 78,000 ha nationwide, 83 per cent of the set target, have been planted with rice crops since the beginning of dry season this year.
— Lao News Agency

Laos trips up on bid for soccer glory
There were reasons for Laos soccer fans to be cheerful at the start of 2017 and most of those were because of Lanexang United.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Feature photo: John Le Fevre

The Lao morning news roundup is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.