Laos, the Central Hub of Transportation

Lao Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr. Nam Viyaketh delivered a presentation at the Lao Embassy in Vienna about the manifold possibilities the country can offer to future investors. One of the objectives of the event was to raise the awareness of the participants to consider the endless business opportunities that Laos can offer to the world and to bring outside wealth across the border.

Members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Austria, hosts of businessmen, investors, travel trade specialists and academic experts of Southeast Asia attended the event, which aimed at boosting trade and investment between the Austria as well as the East Central European region and Laos. One of the objectives of the event was to raise the awareness of the participants to consider the endless business opportunities that Laos can offer to the world and to bring outside wealth across the border.
The well-attended presentation was hosted by Lao Ambassador Khamkheuang Bounteum, who stressed the significance of Minister Viyaketh’s attendance at the UNIDO-organised conferences in Vienna by confirming that “close friendship and reciprocal cooperation between Austria, Hungary and Laos have been conducive to the economic and social development of our home country. Austria and Hungary have been playing an important role in international affairs, and we have worked hard to enhance economic cooperation in the area of tourism, processing industry and trade. Minister Viyaketh’s visit is a landmark occasion, which seeks to call attention to the fact that countries from Austria and East Central Europe should consider investing in Laos.”

During the presentation in downtown Austria, Minister Viyaketh proposed several suggestions for strengthening bilateral comprehensive cooperation. He said that Laos will work with Austria to strengthen planning and coordination on economic cooperation, accelerate the construction of infrastructure programs, deepen economic cooperation in agriculture, energy and mining, and make use of favorable policies which seek to support the economy of Laos. The minister emphasized that the two countries share a number of common features, including the fact that both Austria and Laos are landlocked countries, and have preserved good neighborly relations with the surrounding countries.

Laos is currently looking for European and Austrian investor and may offer special economic and free-trade zones as well as industrial parks. The minister stressed that “Laos is soon to become the commercial center in the Southeast Asian region. Laos will host the ASEM summit in 2012, which will, among other things, boost the country’s reputation worldwide. We are extremely proud to accommodate an event of such large dimensions, and I believe that Laos will be deserving of praise for its future involvement in this internationally highly acknowledged series of meetings,”  commented Minister Viyaketh. In addition to exporting hydropower to the neighboring countries, Laos is also noted for being rich in natural resources and has great potentials for producing and processing agricultural products, such as as coffee, tobacco, vegetable, fruit and rice, and several gold and copper mines are to be opened in the near future. Minister Viyaketh said that “China has laid out a plan to extend its high speed rail network into northern Laos, the first leg of a line that will ultimately terminate in Singapore. In order to economically link the countries of Southeast Asia, Laos will prove to an excellent hub of transportation, both passenger and cargo. This new connection also hopes to contribute to the GDP growth of Laos. In the next five years, we are expecting a 15-20 percent growth in our GDP, which can eventually further increase peace and stability in our nation. Next to Thailand or Vietnam, Laos is an easy stretch of track to build and could serve as a demonstration that China is making good on its vision of a connected continent.”

It was also revealed during the presentation that tourism in Laos has grown substantially in recent years, and the country now receives over two million tourists annually. Laos, which gained its independence in 1975, has been attracting visitors from all over the world due to its gradually developing ecotourism, the beauties of its former royal capital Luang Prabang, and the numerous religious sites it can offer. Lao gastronomy is also well-known in the region. Minister Viyaketh expressed his contentment that Lao Airlines, the nation’s flag carrier, has opened its Budapest-based office, covering Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. Lao Airlines only flies in Southeast Asia, but its network is continually expanding, and the new Vientiane-Singapore route is more than likely to increase tourism originating from Europe as well. “The initiatives of the government of Laos and its continued cooperation with Austria and Hungary will contribute to helping the country dispose of its status as a Least Developed Country and see advancements in economy, trade as well as education,” concluded the minister.