By: Laoconnection.com, February 19, 2024
Like their international counterparts, Lao people will celebrate it on the 14th of February. However, Valentine's Day is a relatively new celebratory day in Laos in that people have only really taken it on more within the last 5 years or so.
By: Laoconnection.com, February 14, 2024
Felix Yongbok Lee from the famous Korean k-pop band Stray Kids was reportedly spotted in Laos last week. He chose to spend his Lunar New Year vacation there doing volunteer work. News outlets and social media in South Korea began reporting the news on February 7, 2024.
Source: RFA Lao, February 9, 2024
A 20% year-over-year increase of agricultural exports from Laos in 2023 was largely on the back of Chinese plantations, according to trade officials, meaning that the country will reap few of the profits.
Members of the business community told RFA Lao that the government needs to review its approach to foreign investment while improving its agricultural output to avoid a deepening trade deficit and improve the living standards of farmers in Laos.
Source: The Star (Myannmar), February 12, 2024
Phnom Penh - Ly Thuch, first vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), has requested that Laos join the Ottawa Convention as the 165th state party, pledging that the kingdom will support Laos’ mine clearance efforts and adherence to the convention.
Source: VietnamPlus, February 13, 2024
Vientiane – The Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism hopes 6.2 million domestic and foreign tourists will make trips to the country in 2024, much higher than the initial target of 4.6 million set in late 2023.
Source: VietnamPlus, January 4, 2024
The famous Elephant Festival of Laos will run from February 12-18 in the northwestern province of Xayaboury.
Phetphixay Sounvilay, Deputy Governor of Xayaboury, said that the festival, the 17th of its kind, aims to not only continue preserving the beauty of customs, traditional culture and lifestyle of Lao ethnic people, but also raise awareness about the conservation of elephants. It is also an opportunity to attract a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to Laos and the province in particular.
By: Laoconnection.com, February 12, 2024
New Name
Two years ago, the Luang Prabang Film Festival had to change its name. For unknown reasons, local Lao officials made the ask to have it changed shortly before the 2022 film festival was set to open.
Source: Jonathan Meadley, Laotian Times, January 24, 2024
From big-name YouTubers to Asian superstars and Hollywood actors, Laos has welcomed some big names to the country over the past year. Here‘s a quick snapshot of the people who visited Asia’s hidden gem in 2023:
Title: Lao PDR 2023 - Forging Ahead: Restoring Stability and Boosting Prosperity - Public Finance Review
By: World Bank
Publisher, Year: World Bank, January 9, 2024
Price: Free download
Publisher's Abstract
The Lao PDR is facing unprecedented macroeconomic challenges, which jeopardize hard-won development gains. Over the past two decades, the country attracted considerable foreign investment and fostered regional integration, which contributed to a long period of high economic growth. Many human development indicators improved during the period 2000–2019, including child and maternal mortality, school enrolment, income poverty, and gender equity.
Source: LaotianTimes.com, January 24, 2024
Villagers of Xang village, Khoun district, Xieng Khouang Province, launched a protest against an alleged land grab by Phengxay Sole Ltd. Company (“the company”) on 22 January.
The 30 minute long video shows spokespeople for the village, including the Village Chief, advocating against the issuing of the land rights certificate to the company.
Riding on the success of last year's incredible success, this year's Sabaidee Fest pre-sale ticket has already begun in earnest. Don't miss out!
More details below and at their website.
By: Laoconnection.com, February 6, 2024
For Laos, the start of 2024 has seen continued news of high inflation throughout the economy in many sectors and across a variety of products and services.
As bad as the inflation rate currently is in Laos, is this the worst inflation the country has seen?
Source: Namfon Chanthavong, Laotian Times, February 2, 2024
Title: The Snakes of Laos
By: Patrick David, Alexandre Teynié, Gernot Vogel
Publisher, Year: Edition Chimaira, 2023
ISBN: 9783-89973-129-3
Price: 258€
This book is likely to be the most definitive publication on this reptile for the country of Laos and will likely become the go-to reference for years to come for anyone looking for information on snakes found in the region. The level of research and detail is impressive.
Source: Vientiane Times, February 2, 2024
Laos earned more than US$1.4 billion from the export of agricultural produce last year, exceeding the target for 2023 by 20.18 percent.
Reporting on developments in the sector, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Mr Thongphat Vongmany said the value of production in agriculture and forestry grew by 3.4 percent in 2023, accounting for 21.4 percent of gross domestic product.
Source: David Rising, Associated Press, February 1, 2024
This magazine continually gets better and better! For those who don't know, it's Lao Airlines official inflight magazine. Some people might assume these types of magazines might be a bit of a bore but in this case, we can't get enough of it. It's a beautiful magazine.
