Lao leaders meet diplomatic corps ahead of National Day

12/4/2017 - 4:04:23 PM

Lao Party General Secretary and President Bounnhang Volachith chaired a meeting with diplomatic corps in Vientiane on December 1 on the occasion of the country’s 42nd National Day (December 2).

Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Ba Hung (second from right) congratulates Lao Party General Secretary and President Bounnhang Volachith on the occasion of Lao National Day.

Also attending the event were Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and Permanent member of the Secretariat of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee Phankham Viphavan, among others.

Speaking at the event, Volachith said 2017 is an important year for Laos as it is the second year to implement the goals set in the Resolution adopted by the 10th National Party Congress and the eighth five-year plan.

This year, Laos’ economic growth is estimated at 6.83 percent while per capita income nears US$2,500, which will lay the foundation for Laos to achieve the goal of escaping from the list of underdeveloped countries by 2020 and becoming a middle-income country by 2030.

He also described 2017 as a special year marking the 50th founding anniversary of ASEAN and 20th anniversary of Laos’ admission to the bloc, affirming that Laos has witnessed ASEAN’s great achievements in maintaining peace, stability and security in the region, which has facilitated socio-economic development for its member states as well as fostering internal and external cooperation.

On this occasion, the Lao leader also thanked countries and international organisations for their support and assistance to Laos in the process of national construction and defence.

Source: NDO

Removing “bottlenecks” in global problems

The Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the world’s leading developed and emerging economies (G20) recently held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil emphasised the need to reform global governance institutions, especially the United Nations Security Council. The meeting is also an opportunity for G20 to find solutions to a series of hot issues facing the world, such as poverty, climate change, and conflict.

ASEAN FMs issue statement on maintaining, promoting stability in maritime sphere in Southeast Asia

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers on December 30 issued a statement on maintaining and promoting stability in the maritime sphere in Southeast Asia.

Optimistic signals of the world economy

The world economy has overcome a challenging year, but has proven more resilient than expected. The Financial Times (UK) commented that 2023 was a positive year for the world economy as the economic surprise index collated by Citigroup shew that actual data have underwhelmed economists’ predictions for much of the past months. These economic trends are the basis for optimism about the world economy in 2024.