Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called Sunday for closer business and cultural ties with Southeast Asia to create a common economic community that is a leader in green growth. Lee, who invited leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian nations to commemorate 20 years of relations between the Seoul and the bloc, hailed the expansion of their economic ties. Total trade has grown 11 times over the past two decades to $90.2 billion last year, he said, and is expected to increase to $150 billion by 2015. "We must strengthen our economic partnership, expand cultural exchange and become partners in our common goal of ... Read Full Story

The communist authorities in Laos, one of Asia's poorest nations, have signed a decree to allow local non-governmental organisations for the first time, foreign aid agencies said on Monday. More than 100 local organisations of various types already exist in the country but are not centrally registered, said Luke Stephens, country director of the Irish-based NGO Concern Worldwide. The decree provides a clear legal framework for membership-based groups, in contrast to the existing situation under which registration is done on a more ad hoc basis, said Stephens, whose group backed the drafting of the decree. "Now it's a much more transparent process," he said. ... Read Full Story

Bangkok Post Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat will pay a one-day visit to Laos tomorrow, part of a tradition of visiting neighbouring countries after taking office. The prime minister will meet his counterpart Bouasone Bouphavanh for bilateral talks and the two prime ministers will play golf to strengthen ties between the two nations. Mr Somchai will also pay a courtesy call on President Choumaly Sayasone and jointly preside over the handover of an irrigational canal construction project. He will be accompanied by secretary-general Chusak Sirinil and private secretary Boonsong Teriyapirom. Mr Somchai’s visits to other Asean member nations have been suspended following the political turmoil ... Read Full Story

Saturday, March 1st, 2008 | Categories: Politics , Media - News , World News , War , Municipal , YAHOO NEWS , GOOGLE NEWS , MSN NEWS   Washington, D.C. (RushPRNews) March 1, 2008 -A coalition of Lao and Hmong organizations in Washington, D.C. have denounced the visit of Thai Premier Samak Sundaravej to Laos following his government’s brutal forced repatriation of Lao-Hmong refugees and asylum seekers in recent days back to Laos and the Lao military’s new offensive against unarmed Lao and Hmong civilians and opposition groups. Radio Free Asia and other sources have documented the use of attack dogs by the Thai ... Read Full Story

Saturday, May 24th, 2008 | Categories: GOOGLE NEWS   Washington, D.C., (RUSHPRNEWS)05/24/ 2008 -Thailand’s Prime Minister Samak reportedly ordered Thai Third Army troops to use tear gas and pepper spray mace today to seek to force hundreds of Lao Hmong refugees onto military buses to repatriate them back to the communist regime in Laos that they fled. On May 16, eight members of the U.S. Senate wrote a letter appealing to Prime minister Samak and U.S. Secretary of State Condelezza Rice to work to grant asylum to some 8,000 Lao Hmong refugees and not force them back to Laos. The letter was sent to ... Read Full Story