Local authorities and residents have built temporary wooden footbridges after the previous structures collapsed at the end of last month in Viengkham district, Luang Prabang province.
EU Scholarships Now Available for Lao Students
The new Erasmus Plus programme is now open for those who wish to further their study in European universities so as to strengthen their knowledge and apply it to national development.
Speaking at a “Study in Europe” Seminar held at Souphanouvong University, Luang Prabang province on Friday, EU Ambassador Leo Faber said the Erasmus Plus programme offers financial support for institutions and scholarships for individuals.
“It aims to enhance quality in higher education through scholarships and academic cooperation and exchanges between Europe and the rest of the world and improve third countries’ students and staff career prospects. Under this initiative we aim to fund 135,000 scholarships for mobility with partner countries worldwide (2014-2020),” he said.
Mr Faber highlighted the significance of human resource development which is considered a key factor for sustainable development and economic growth.
“This is the reason that our development cooperation with Laos for the period of 2014-2020 focuses on education and nutrition,” he said.
The ambassador explained that a competent workforce is particularly important for Laos as it will not only help the country graduate from Least Developed Country status but also help Laos to take full advantage of the new employment opportunities available in the Asian Economic Community.
“By promoting academic exchanges between Europe and the rest of the world including Laos we are contributing to bringing back to Laos highly qualified young women and men for better development of the country. I encourage interested people from Laos to prepare well, especially in terms of language skills, before they apply for the programme, to ensure success in their application,” Mr Faber added.
“I wish to see students from Laos account for a high proportion of those accepted. It is not easy as it is a very competitive scholarship, so you need to work hard and have sufficient language skills to compete with students from other countries. ”
The seminar was organised by the EU Delegation in Vientiane together with the Ministry of Education and Sports and Souphanouvong University, and was attended by some 300 faculty members, lecturers and students.
The event is part of the 2nd European Union-Lao PDR Higher Education Policy and Cooperation Roadshow, which will take place in all higher education institutions across Laos and aims at improving the cooperation activities between European and Lao universities and promoting higher education opportunities for both staff members and students from Laos, particularly from the provinces.
Over the last decade from 2004-2016, more than 220 Erasmus scholarships have been awarded to Lao students to undergo professional training and take undergraduate, master’s and doctorate degrees in European countries.
Just last August the EU bid farewell to 12 students heading to Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Poland and Portugal for these programmes.
This year under the second round assessment of the 2016 Erasmus + International Credit Mobility, around 34 mobile participants including 25 outgoing from and 9 incoming to Laos will be funded.
For more information visit this link: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/
Source: Vientiane Times
CLMV, ACMECS Summits to Review Framework, Future Cooperation
The 8th Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) and 7th Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Summits and the World Economic Forum on Mekong (WEF-Mekong) will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from October 24-26.
Census Results Announced: Laos Has more Males than Females
Laos has more males than females, while the birth rate per woman has fallen, according to the final report on the 4th Population and Housing Census, which took place in March last year.
Tax Dodging Traders Sneaking through Rural Border Crossings
Many traders are using the shortcomings of smaller, informal border crossings to avoid paying customs duty on goods purchased in other countries, an official has admitted.
Southern Laos Wins PATA CEO Challenge Top Destination 2016 Award
Southern Laos has won the top tourism destination 2016 award presented by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), recognising the region as a top emerging tourist destination displaying a unique and diverse culture and heritage.
Govt to Rein in Spending
The government cabinet has agreed to curb spending on receptions, meetings, visits to foreign countries, vehicles and expenditure on state investment projects, the government spokesman has said.
China Says Singapore Court Got It Wrong In Laos Treaty Case
New York — China claimed Friday that Singapore’s highest court was wrong to conclude last month that Macanese companies are protected by China’s bilateral investment treaty with Laos, a decision reviving an arbitration brought by a casino investor from the Chinese territory of Macao against the Laotian government.
Speaking to reporters during a Friday press conference, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry said that the ruling made by the Singapore Court of Appeal was incorrect, since the geographical scope of application of the China-Laos investment agreement is a question of fact that is up to the contracting parties to decide.
“China has confirmed twice in diplomatic notes that the China-Laos investment agreement does not apply to Macao [special administrative region],” Hua Chunying said, according to a transcript of her speech provided by the Chinese government.
The Singapore court had reached its decision in an appeal lodged by Sanum Investments Ltd., a Macanese entity with a Dutch parent company, which had struck a special tax deal with the Laotian government in 2007 as part of the process of building a gambling resort near the country’s border with Thailand.
The company had demanded arbitration after disputes over taxes and ownership came up, and a Singaporean tribunal found in 2013 that it had the authority to hear the dispute because the once-Portuguese territory of Macao had become part of China in 1999.
Laos challenged the arbitrators’ decision, however, saying letters it exchanged with China in 2014 proved that neither country meant for their treaty to cover Macao when they signed in 1993. A judge of Singapore’s high court accepted the letters and ruled in favor of Laos, but five judges of the Court of Appeal reversed that decision last month, saying the letters didn’t outweigh a bedrock principle of international law known as the moving treaty frontier rule.
Macao is located in China’s southern Guangdong Province, and, like Hong Kong, it is a so-called special administrative region, or SAR. SARs have separate political systems from that of China and their own basic law, and exercise a high degree of autonomy.
According to Chunying, the Chinese government decides whether the international treaties signed by China apply to the SARs based on discussions with their respective governments on the regions’ needs. Otherwise, SARs can sign agreements with foreign countries on their own.
“Therefore, as a principle, the investment agreements between the central government and foreign countries do not apply to SARs, unless otherwise decided by the central government after seeking the views of the SAR governments and consulting with the other contracting parties of the agreement,” she said during the Friday press conference.
In the underlying arbitration, the Laotian government argued that documents including a 1987 declaration by China and Portugal and a 2001 report by the World Trade Organization supported the view that its BIT with China didn’t suddenly extend to Macao. The 2014 exchange of diplomatic letters, which it said took place after informal communications, simply confirmed what had been the case all along, Laos argued.
The Singapore court found otherwise, however. Both parties accepted that customary international law holds that a state’s treaty obligations stretch as far as its sovereignty does, even when its borders change, the judgment said. But the judges said the text of the China-Laos BIT didn’t purport to change that, nor did Laos “otherwise establish” that the rule didn’t apply as it normally would.
Although a lower court saw the 2014 letters as simply confirming what had been clear, the Court of Appeal said the older evidence had supported Sanum’s stance. Accordingly, the judges said, the 2014 letters should be granted “no weight.”
This is not the first time that China has disputed interpretations of treaties it’s signed with other nations. Earlier this year, an international tribunal sided with the Philippines in an arbitration against China over the role of historic rights and the source of maritime entitlements in the South China Sea. In that proceeding, the tribunal was interpreting China’s obligations under the United Nations Convention On the Law of the Sea.
China boycotted the proceedings and refused to accept the ruling when it was issued, saying that it wouldn’t submit to any third party dispute settlement imposed on it regarding territorial issues and maritime delimitation disputes.
Sanum is represented in the Singapore litigation by Alvin Yeo SC, Koh Swee Yen, Monica Chong Wan Yee and Mak Shin Yi of WongPartnership LLP.
Laos is represented in the Singapore litigation by Cavinder Bull SC, Lim Gerui, Darryl Ho Ping and Eunice Chan Swee En of Drew & Napier LLC. The country was represented in arbitration by David J. Branson.
The case is Sanum Investments Ltd. v. Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, civil appeal numbers 139/2015 and 167/2015 and judgment number [2016] SGCA 57, in the Singapore Court of Appeal.
Written by: Caroline Simson
Additional Reporting by: Jack Newsham
Editing by Emily Kokoll
Source: Law360
