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Economic Issues Top Cabinet, Provincial Governors Meeting Agenda

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A meeting between the government cabinet, Vientiane Mayor and provincial governors kicked off yesterday in Vientiane to debate measures to realise the 2017 socio-economic development plan.

The two-day meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, also reviewed achievements made in implementing the socio-economic development plan, budget plan and currency plan over the past year.

The discussion came after the National Assembly (NA) approved the government’s proposal last month to revise the 2017 socio-economic development plan to reflect a lower economic growth target of 7 percent, a decrease from the originally expected 7.5 percent.

To pursue the target, yesterday’s meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office discussed a Prime Ministerial Order on the 2017 Socio-economic Development Plan, budget plan and currency plan.

According to the 2017 plan presented at last month’s NA ordinary session, the government expects to collect revenue of 23,801 billion kip and spend not more than 32,262 billion kip to secure the growth target.

Next year, the target is set to ensure that deposits by the commercial banks reach 57 percent of the country’s GDP. As of July 2016, commercial banks have recorded deposits totaling more than 59,616 billion kip, representing 54.8 percent of GDP, an increase of 5,692 billion kip compared to the same period last year, according to the currency plan presented at the NA.

Yesterday’s meeting also heard a report of the four-year currency plan for 2017-2020, which is set to increase deposits at commercial banks to 84 percent of GDP by 2020, up from the 57 percent expected in 2016.

The participants also heard a report that summarised debt accumulated under state investment projects.

Today, the Ministry of Home Affairs is scheduled to report on ways to improve coordinated mechanisms between the Prime Minister’s Office, ministries, other state organisations and local authorities.

The Ministry of Finance will also report on a draft presidential ordinance on road fees. The Ministry of Justice is set to present a report that evaluates the formulations and amendments to the laws and regulations of various departments as well as the enforcement situation in relation to laws and regulations over the past years and plans for the future.

A report to review the performances of the government cabinet since it has taken office in April will also be presented.

Prime Minister Thongloun told the NA last month that reshuffles in state departments with their redefined mandates have been made following the assumption in office of the new cabinet. The move aims to ensure those ministries and departments whose responsibilities previously overlapped no longer have such problems.

The government has also issued at least 12 Prime Ministerial Decrees, and another 11 Prime Ministerial Orders and a number of regulations in efforts to further a society governed by the rule of law.

In addition, many laws were newly drawn up and amended, which were passed by the recent NA’s ordinary session.

The PM highlighted that the government has also addressed some hot issues such as solving the failed administration of Electricite Du Laos (EDL).

Several hot issues have been addressed, including taking tougher action to manage wood processing plants and businesses, a prohibition on the export of unfinished wooden products and a cessation of the granting of an annual logging quota in an attempt to end illegal logging.

The crackdown has resulted in the fact that 28 wood processing factories located near and inside forest areas along with another 1,154 family-unit furniture plants across the country were ordered to shut down their illegal operations, amongst other issues.

Source: Vientiane Times

BCEL-KT: Trade Summary (Dec 13, 2016)

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Trade Summary

LSX was down 9.51 points or 0.94 percent to close at 1,004.54 points on just 6,500 shares or 19,950,000 kip in terms of turnover. The downward movement was attributed to the decrease of BCEL and EDL-Gen, which closed at 5,000 kip and 4,950 kip respectively. EDL-Gen lost 50 kip at 4,950 with just a handful of shares traded, while BCEL closed lower 100 kip to 5,000 kip on 500 shares matched. PTL had the highest volume today at 5,000 shares and closed at 2,500 kip. In the meantime, LWPC and SVN closed unchanged with no trading.

BCEL-KT: Trade Summary (Dec 9, 2016)

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Trade Summary

While remained unchanged at 1,014.05 points on Monday, LSX had higher trading volume than last Friday with 36,300 shares traded, worth about 183 million kip. Still, BCEL and EDL-Gen acted as the two main players, with BCEL having 31,900 shares traded at 5,100 kip. EDL-Gen was stable at 5,000 kip, seeing 4,400 shares changed hands. LWPC, PTL and SVN had no trade today, closing at 5,900 kip, 2,500 kip and 3,000 kip respectively.

Training Session Held for Grant Proposal Writing

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The Agency Universitaire de la Francophonie has introduced a programme to educate Lao officials on the procedures for writing grant requests to donor organisations.

The second session of capacity building concerning project creation and project management began in Vientiane on Monday, attended by Vice President of the National University of Laos, Professor Lammai Phiphakhavong, and the Technical Expert for French Projects, Mr Gaylord Giordanino.

The purpose of the training is to upgrade skills and knowledge for drafting projects that will successfully obtain donor funding. The training will help the participants improve their hard skills concerning drafting of proposals and communicating with the donors. The four-day training course aims to consolidate the skills and knowledge acquired during the first session held in February. It will also be an opportunity for the participants to meet donor organisations such as the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the Institute de Recherche et Development.

Awareness of the important role donor projects play in the development of higher education, research, social issues and many other sectors, the Agency Universitaire de la Francophonie provided a practical and contextualised training, which would allow heads of ministries and academic departments to deepen their knowledge of project management. The ultimate goal is that Laos increase its responses to calls for projects by NGOs and other international organisations, thereby boosting the country’s development in all areas.

The officials who joined the training come from the National University of Lao, the University of Health Sciences, Savannakhet University, the Ministry of Education and Sports, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

ASEAN Health Experts Discuss Opthalmology

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Health experts from Laos and ASEAN member countries met in Vientiane on Sunday for the 9th Annual Lao Ophthalmologist Conference to discuss the latest developments in ophthalmology in the efforttoraiseLaos’treatment standards to international levels.

The participants discussed advanced techniques and modern treatment methods in order to bring better vision to their patients.

The meeting was not only an exchange of ideas, but also included the strengthening of assistance programmes between the participating countries, a health official said.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Health, associate Prof. Dr Bounkong Syhavong, said such meetings are an important manner for ASEAN member states to develop and build the ASEAN medical community.

He noted, “I would like to express my thanks to all the speakers from ASEAN member countries, organisers,

technical officers and other relevant persons, who devoted their efforts to organising this meeting.”

“We strongly believe the result of this meeting will highly benefit our people by improving ophthalmological services through higher quality of treatment and technical innovation”, he said.

The President of the Lao Ophthalmological Society, Dr Vithoune Visonnavong, said, “We had the opportunity to meet well known ophthalmological experts from many countries around the ASEAN region who are willing to assist us in bettering our treatment programmes”.

“We also wish to invite all national and international organisations who are interested in the field of ophthalmology in ASEAN to join in this important congress,” he continued.

“The convention is not only dedicated to furthering participants’ academic knowledge, but is a centre of opportunity to meet other ophthalmologists from different organisations from ASEAN countries,” he added.

Cataracts are a challenging issue in Laos as many people have difficulty accessing treatment for the disease. Other issues like glaucoma continue to present challenges for doctors because practise standards are not up to par with international levels, making treatment more difficult. Through meetings like the Annual Lao Ophthalmologist Conference, the latest developments and treatments can be shared by global experts with Lao doctors, who can use their new found knowledge to better treat their patients.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Safe Anesthesia Examined at Medical Workshop

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Anesthesiologists from ASEAN member countries and other cooperation partners met in Vientiane recently to review their work in the sector and discuss methods of improving patient care and providing safe anesthetics.

The participants learned how to use different models of anesthetics machines as well as troubleshooting common problems and discussing improvements to patient safety.

The workshop also provided a great opportunity for participants to meet and talk with experts in the field from Laos, Thailand, Japan, the Republic of Korean and France, including anesthesiologists and also their anesthesia equipment as well as biomedical engineers.

The workshop was supported by the Anesthesia Fellowship at the Bangkok Anesthesia Regional Training Centre (BARTC).

President of the Lao Society of Anesthesiologists Association, Associate Prof. Dr Oukham Phanthaly spoke to Vientiane Timeson Saturday after the 3rd annual workshop entitled improvement of quality in emergency medical services (EMS).

He said the workshop stressed the importance of anesthesiologists in regard to the provision of emergency medical services before, during and after surgery.

Dr Oukham explained that anesthesiology is the practice of medicine dedicated to the total care of the patient before, during and after surgery. Anesthesiologists are also experts in resuscitation, pain management and intensive care.

The aim of this workshop was to present the strategic approaches for the improvement of quality in emergency medical services (EMS) before and after surgery because EMS is integrated within the health care system and anesthetists are obliged to respond to medical emergencies, he said

The workshop aimed to teach the participants various aspects of anesthesia machine basics and safety features, how to identify equipment problems, locating the cause and determining workable solutions, including the changing experiences of patients.

Anesthesiologists from Laos and ASEAN member countries as well as partner countries reported the progress of their activities for many sub-working groups to work on anesthesia in intra-abdominal trauma, the common airway problems in pediatric anesthesia, ethics and research for anesthesiologists.

Also examined were approaches for patients who are on antithrombotic agents, anesthesia for morbid obesity , techniques in inhalation anesthesia, minimising blood loss in liver surgery, neuro-anesthesia for non-neuroanesthesiologists and anesthesia for obstetric bleeding patients.

Fellowships and other grants are on offer to young anesthesiologists, aiming to strengthen the international capacity to deliver safe anesthesia and effective pain relief.

The fellowship also aims to develop and make available quality educational materials for anesthesiologists.

According to the Lao Society of Anesthesiologists Association, in 1996, Laos had only three anesthesiologists. Currently, there are more than 80 anesthesiologists in Laos.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

 

Government Mulls Savings in Staging Visit Laos Year

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Minimising the government’s financial burden when organising a national tourism event was the main topic Japanese tourism experts shared with Lao colleagues at a meeting last week.

The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism held the workshop in Vientiane province to share experiences with Japanese experts as the country prepares to organise Visit Laos Year in 2018.

At the meeting, senior Japanese tourism expert, Mr Moriyama Akira, pointed out the government’s role in giving guidance and developing policy when organising a national tourism event while getting the private sector to take ownership, so it will fund the activities.

An official from the ministry’s Tourism Marketing Department, Mr Anousone Duangsovath, said the Japanese expert also noted even high level government officials had to get involved, such as the prime minister ,holding a press conference to highlight the tourism event.

Moreover, he said referring to the Japanese experience, aside from getting businesses to sign on for the event secretariat, the government had to persuade them of the benefits to be received by participating.

Building awareness among the general public was another important component for the successful organisation of such an event, according to Mr Anousone, who referred to the experience of Japan, which successfully arranged its tourism year in 2003.

The nation previously organised Visit Laos Years in 1999-2000 and 2012, but the two events were not organised very effectively, according to the Lao tourism official.

Tourism is the second highest ranked sector in generating income for the nation. The number of foreign visitors to the country has continually increased over the past 15 years. Tourist arrivals were around 727,000 in 2000, which generated US$113 million for the nation, while the number of arrivals reached 4.6 million last year, generating US$725 million.

Tourism has directly and indirectly attracted investment to the country for the operation of hospitality businesses, along with infrastructure development, including roads and air ports.

The country expects to receive at least 6.8 million foreign guests in 2020, and earn around US$1 billion in revenue.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

LWU Improving Women’s and Children’s Status

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The Lao Women’s Union (LWU) member committee has continually improved women’s standing in various fields including law, female worker protection, as well as promoted gender equality and children’s rights.

That was the message at the opening of the LWU’s annual meeting yesterday in Vientiane, running from December 12-14 with the President of the Lao Women’s Union, Dr Inlavan Keobounphanh, along with members from across the nation, in attendance.

The LWU will cooperate with their development partners to manage female and child workers at many workplaces, such as restaurants and entertainment venues, while looking to help victims of human trafficking.

As well, they will continue to improve the lives and support women and children in every local community, the meeting heard.

During the three-day conference, participants are discussing women’s development plans for 2016-2020, with a focus on eight main development programmes to promote gender rights.

These programmes include human resource development for females, strengthening the women’s union, promoting vocations and businesses for women, protecting women and children’s rights, as well as promoting female progress and gender equality rights.

Vice President of the Lao Women’s Union, Ms Bundith Prathoumvanh, highlighted the union’s many achievements in 2015-2016 including women’s and children’s rights protection, the promotion of women’s progress and gender equality, and the fight to stop violence against women.

In 2015-2016, the LWU member committee has stood up to violence against women and children, with some 40 victims receiving assistance.

Others achievements include supporting child protection in target provinces such as Luang Namtha, Xieng Khuang, Huaphan, Champassak and Savannakhet, with more than 1,000 children receiving benefits from the programme.

In the capital, LWU monitored and helped women and children who had become victims of human trafficking, while also opening a free healthcare consultation service for women and young people via the 136 and 137 hotlines.

The Vientiane LWU member committee also supported reproductive health activities and provided facilities for workers in local factories.

The union has helped Lao women make development progress in terms of education and vocational skills, as well as promoting their rights and protecting benefits.

Women also made significant contributions towards the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, according to the LWU.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

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