Various ministries and organizations in Laos held a capacity-building workshop for Timor-Leste, ahead of its accession to ASEAN, which took place from 26-30 June.

The workshop welcomed the participation of dignitaries like Mr. Thongphan Savanphet, Vice Foreign Minister and the head of Laos’ ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting, and the Ambassador of Timor-Leste, Mrs. Renata de Jesus. 

Representatives from the Department of ASEAN at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, and the Australian Embassy in Laos also attended the event. 

Additionally, representatives from the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism, the Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union, and the Lao Women’s Union in Laos, were also present at the event.

According to Pasaxon, the objective of the workshop, organized by Lao representatives with the support of Australia, was to learn from the successful ASEAN applications of Laos and Vietnam.

The project also aimed to provide valuable insights into cooperation and coordination efforts within ASEAN. It specifically focused on the three pillars of the ASEAN Community: the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). It shed light on how these pillars work together at the regional level and within each member country.

This workshop is a direct implementation of the agreement reached between the bloc’s leaders at the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summit in 2022, which outlined the acceptance of Timor-Leste as the 11th member country in principle, granting it observer status.

In addition, the agreement called upon all of the bloc’s members and negotiating partners to extend their assistance in preparing for Timor-Leste’s future ASEAN membership.

source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/06/29/laos-supports-timor-leste-in-strengthening-capacity-for-asean-accession/

From January to May 2023, Bokeo province reported that 116,142 tourists entered across the 4th Lao-Thai International Friendship Bridge and through the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone Border Checkpoint.

The Provincial Department of Information, Culture, and Tourism reported that international tourists, alongside 7,300 domestic visitors, in Bokeo generated more than USD 5.8 million in revenue.

The rise in the number of visitors compared to the same period last year is more than 96,000, which is an increase of 484 percent.

The Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge 4 alone saw 57,867 visitors, which includes 48,947 passport-holding tourists and 8,920 border-pass visitors, resulting in a USD 2.9 million revenue.

The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone Crossing attracted 58,275 visitors, including 48,412 passport-holding tourists and 9,863 border-pass visitors, generating more than USD 2.9 million.

The province received 66,593 visitors from 9 ASEAN countries, 27,437 from 30 Asian and Pacific nations, 18,480 from 38 European nations, 3,450 from 15 northern and southern American nations, and 182 from 12 African and Middle Eastern nations.

SEZs in Laos have recently been in the news for not just attracting tourists but also generating employment for over 60,000 people across the country.

source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/06/23/over-100000-tourists-enter-laos-via-bokeo-province-in-2023/

The province’s five-year tourism plan hopes to attract 4 million tourists by 2025. Currently, at its midway point, Luang Prabang has seen 1.1 million tourists spending over USD 500 million.

In the last two years and five months, the UNESCO heritage site has seen only 26.4 percent of the targeted amount of tourists, primarily due to the slow rebound of tourism following the Covid-19 crisis. Over the next two years, the province aims to attract 3 million tourists yielding at least USD 566 million in tourism revenue, according to the Luang Prabang News.

Mrs. Soudaphone Khomthavong, Director of Luang Prabang’s Department of Information, Culture, and Tourism, said the province has prioritized tourism as a pillar for socio-economic development in the region.

In the first five months of 2023, a total of 437,374 tourists visited the province, with 396,742 of them being international tourists. Thailand ranked first as the country with the most people visiting Luang Prabang, followed by the United States, and China.

“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and global financial crisis, Luang Prabang can still maintain the title of being a world heritage city and a leading destination for tourists”, said Soudaphone.

She added that Luang Prabang province authorities are periodically evaluating tourism figures and monitoring visitor feedback to maintain its standards as one of the most popular destinations in Laos that aims to provide international levels of hospitality to its guests.

The province is also developing small and medium-sized attractions with modern infrastructure and facilities for tourists where it plans to organize activities to promote Luang Prabang culture, its various festivals, and food.

source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/06/22/luang-prabang-plans-to-attract-4-million-tourists-by-2025/

The U-9 MAZDA LAOS football team secured first place in the ACF Vietnam Football Tournament held in Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam, on 18-19 June, thanks to their multiple wins against opposing teams.

The U-9 MAZDA LAOS Team A displayed an impressive performance throughout the tournament, beating two Vietnamese teams – KID CT and Vietnam Soccer – by 9-0 and 10-2, respectively, in the qualifying rounds. The Lao footballers eventually clinched first place in the tournament by defeating the Malaysian team VELO CITY, by 5-1.

Meanwhile, U-9 MAZDA LAOS Team B claimed the third spot in the tournament after beating NR Junior, another team from Malaysia, by penalty kick 4-2 after a 1-1 draw.

The tournament, which took place over two days, saw participation from five countries – Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, and Indonesia, across five age categories. However, Laos took part only in three categories, namely U9, U13, and U15.

Although the U9 team performed exceptionally well, the U13 and U15 teams were not able to win any laurels at the tournament.

Earlier this year, young footballers from Mazda Laos GB FC won a trophy at the SAT NSDF Thailand Championship 2023.

source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/06/21/lao-junior-footballers-win-multiple-trophies-at-acf-vietnam-football-tournament/

Lao athlete Sayavong “Py” Vongviseth participated in the 18th Powerman Malaysia 2023 duathlon competition in Putrajaya on Sunday, where he won gold in the Powerman Short – Male 40-49 category with a record time of 1:38:14.

Powerman Malaysia is the world’s biggest duathlon competition, which saw 2,282 athletes join this year. Powerman Elite, Powerman Classic, and Powerman Short were the three participating categories in the competition.

Py achieved a ranking of 20th among all athletes across different categories and secured the 19th position out of a total of 1,892 male athletes.

The duathlon which Py competed in had a 5-30-5 format, 5 km run, 30 km cycling followed by another 5 km run. Py ran the first 5 km in 18 minutes and 34 seconds. After arriving at the first transition, Py took 5 minutes and 45 seconds to change into his biking gear and began his 30 km journey.

Py then went on to cycle a 10 km distance in 14 minutes and 49 seconds, he took 17 minutes 54 seconds to reach the 21 km mark and 11 minutes 28 seconds to cross the 28 km mark, bringing his total time up to 01:08:08.

He reached the second transition point after 01:10:36, changed back to his running gear, and began the last leg of the competition with a time of 01:16:10.

Py ran the last 5 km leg in about 24 minutes, finally crossing the finish line at 1:38:14, making him the winner in his category.

In a Facebook post, Py said that this was his first ever time participating in the Powerman Malaysia competition, and expressed gratitude for being able to represent Laos.

Lao Athletes are gradually starting to make their mark in the world of sports, standing out as a force to be reckoned with, and even managing to win 88 medals at the recently held 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.

source: https://laotiantimes.com/2023/06/20/lao-athlete-gets-top-spot-at-worlds-biggest-duathlon-event/