Bolikhamxay Signs Deals for Three Solar Plants as Larger Project Advances

Bolikhamxay authorities signed investment agreements on 15 October for three solar power plants of up to 5 megawatts (MW) each in two districts, adding to a 100 MW project already advancing in the province. Paksan Energy Development and Lao Clean Energy will build, own, and operate the plants on company-owned land. Authorities have not specified which company will develop each site. One plant will be built in Thuay village, Thaphabat district, and two others in Houaysiat and Phone Sa-ard villages in Paksan district. Each plant will have a capacity of up to 5 MW. Larger plant advances in Paksan The agreements come weeks after developers met local communities on 18 September to discuss...

Economy

Bolikhamxay Signs Deals for Three Solar Plants as Larger Project Advances

Bolikhamxay authorities signed investment agreements on 15 October for three solar power plants of up to 5 megawatts (MW) each in two districts, adding to a 100 MW project...

Vietnam to Introduce Lao in School Curricula in Three Border Areas

Vietnam is preparing to introduce Lao-language classes in schools in Son La Province, Hue City, and Quang Tri Province, with each locality at a different stage of implementation, local...

Lao PM Orders Urgent Action on Water Shortages, Overdue Project Debts

Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith has ordered the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to urgently address urban water shortages and clear overdue investment project debts. The newly elected prime minister...

Laos Joins Asian Regional Security, Cooperation Forum

Laos has joined a pan-Asian forum that brings governments together to discuss regional security and economic cooperation, becoming its 29th member after about nine years as an observer. The Conference...

Laos Seeks Higher Age Limits, More Couple Slots for Farm Workers in South Korea

Laos has asked South Korea’s Seongju County to raise age limits and expand seasonal farm work opportunities for older workers and married couples, while strengthening protections against extreme heat. Lao...

Laos, Vietnam Restart USD 492M Potash Project in Khammouane

A USD 492 million potash mining and processing project in Khammouane is moving forward again after nearly a decade of delays, with production targeted for 2028. On 12 October, Vietnam...

Travel

Graduating Students Cook, Serve French Dinner at Luang Prabang Academy

It was a busy day in the kitchen at The Academy Luang Prabang on 18 September. A group of students who were about to graduate were hard at work, preparing a special four-course French dinner. The students cooked for nearly 40 guests, served the food, poured glasses of wine, and kept things moving in the dining room as the evening went on. At The Academy, it was a chance to put months of training into practice, this time with real guests sitting at the tables and waiting to be served. For the students, it was a chance to see what it was like to handle a full dinner service from start...

Laos Targets 6 Million Visitors in 2026 as Chinese Arrivals Projected at 2 Million

Laos expects to welcome between 5 and 6 million international tourists in 2026, with Chinese visitors projected to account for around 2 million of that total, according to government estimates. The numbers will be...

ASEAN Rail Tourism Corridor Takes Center Stage at Mekong Tourism Forum 2025

Laos hosted the Mekong Tourism Forum 2025 in Luang Prabang from 24 to 27 June, spotlighting the proposed ASEAN Rail Tourism Corridor (ARTC) as a key initiative to boost regional travel and connectivity. Held...

Health & Environment

The Photographer Who Speaks for Laos’ Forests

In the forests of Laos, observation comes before words for Souksamlan “Toun” Laladeth. That idea inspired the title of his debut visual anthology, Where the Forests Have No Words, officially launched on 5 October in Vientiane*.* "People call me a conservation and nature photographer. But really, I'm just a simple person, nothing more," Toun said. Toun’s connection with nature began easily in life. Growing up in the northern Bokeo Province, his mother taught him which forest vegetables were safe to eat, while...

Sport

Laos Prepares For ASEAN Para Games With 12-Sport Bid

Laos is preparing to compete in 12 sports at the 14th ASEAN Para Games in Kuala Lumpur next October. The Lao team has proposed entering athletics, swimming, powerlifting, boccia, women’s goalball, men’s blind football,...

Young Lao Chess Team Wins 12 Medals from Singapore

Laos continues working to develop chess among younger generations.  A group of young Lao players has returned from Singapore with 12 medals after gaining international experience against competitors from across Asia and beyond. Team Laos...

Politics

Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia Plan Stronger Border Security in 2027

Defense ministers from Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia have agreed to strengthen border security, speed up work on outstanding border...

Laos Joins Asian Regional Security, Cooperation Forum

Laos has joined a pan-Asian forum that brings governments together to discuss regional security and economic cooperation, becoming its...

Graduating Students Cook, Serve French Dinner at Luang Prabang Academy

It was a busy day in the kitchen at The Academy Luang Prabang on 18 September. A group of...

Saleumxay Kommasith Becomes Laos New Prime Minister, Sonexay Takes National Assembly Helm

Today, Laos has made a major change to its top leadership, appointing former Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith as...

Feature

The Photographer Who Speaks for Laos’ Forests

In the forests of Laos, observation comes before words for Souksamlan “Toun” Laladeth. That idea inspired the title of his debut visual anthology, Where the Forests Have No Words, officially launched on 5 October in Vientiane*.* "People call me a conservation and nature photographer. But really, I'm just a simple person, nothing more," Toun said. Toun’s connection with nature began easily in life. Growing up in the northern Bokeo Province, his mother taught him which forest vegetables were safe to eat, while his father, a local hunter, taught him how to track animals. “Nature and forest, they cannot speak,” Toun says. “Spending time in nature is key to understanding its language.” Years later, as he began working professionally in the forest, Toun learned more from experienced animal trackers in South Africa and Northern Europe. They taught him how to move silently in the forest, observe his surroundings closely, and think like the animals he was following. "If you want to see wildlife, you have to think like wildlife, you have to move like wildlife, you have to act like wildlife," Toun said. In 2009, Toun began working in the Nam Kan National Park as a porter,...

Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia Plan Stronger Border Security in 2027

Defense ministers from Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia have agreed...

Laos Joins Asian Regional Security, Cooperation Forum

Laos has joined a pan-Asian forum that brings governments...

Laos, Thailand Move Luang Prabang Bridge Toward Construction

Laos and Thailand have moved a planned 820-meter bridge...