Category: Business

The Ministry of Health has warned that none of Covid-19 rapid test kitscan deliver 100% accurate results and none of them has been approved by the ministry.

As the number of daily infections of Covid-19 is rising, many people are worried about buying Covid-19 self-test kits that are advertised on social media.

The Ministry of Health has recommended that only trained medical workers can use the rapid test kit.

“None of the brands available at the moment can give accurate results. Obviously, this provesthat they are very likely to deliver wrong results, especially when their readings are negative. Technically, most buyers of the rapid test kit don’t have experiences in collecting samples or may collect them improperly and this can lead to incorrect readings,” said Wednesday Dr Sisavat Soudthanilaxay, Deputy Director General of the Department of Communicable Disease Control, Ministry of Health.

He also warned of the disposal of used test kits. “Throwing specimens or used test kits into bin without disinfecting them is dangerous because they can be a source of infection and can spread the virus to family or close ones,” Dr Sivavat said.

“It is highly recommended that the test is conducted in a laboratory with specific techniques applied. Although you are tested with a rapid test kit, you still need to visit our service centre to find out whether you are infected or not,” he emphasized.

Source: Lao News Agency

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the National University of Laos organized a two-day training for 20 youth volunteers under the “Me, My Body, My Planet, My Future” campaign.

The training aimed to build capacities of these youth volunteers on the ICPD mandate, Noi 2030 Framework and Ecosystem, Sustainable Development Goals, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, male engagement, youth participation, communication skills and other relevant topics.

Vice Dean of Faculty of Education of the National University of Laos Kongsy Chounlamany highlighted the importance of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) among young people. “ We are working on integrating MHPSS into the university curriculum. As we have seen recently, especially in this pandemic, many students feel depressed. So we are looking to support them on this matter. In school, but MHPSS counseling should also be available to young people in rural areas to support and guide them to lead healthy lives.

“Today’s training helps our staff, teachers, and youth volunteers to improve their communications skills, including teamwork, conflict management, and other essential skills,” She added.

Building on the momentum and continuing acceleration to implement ICPD mandate and renewed commitment of the Government of the Lao PDR at the Nairobi Summit in 2019, UNFPA provides support to the Government of the Lao PDR to empower adolescents and youth by improving their knowledge on sexual and reproductive health, education, social protection and participation through implementation of the Noi Ecosystem.

Following the training, these youth volunteers will be engaged as volunteers for promoting youth action, supporting communication and advocacy campaigns through online and offline activities.

Mariam A. Khan, UNFPA Representative for the Lao PDR said “We look forward to engage with you in awareness and advocacy activities to strengthen youth action in supporting peers to make better decisions for their health, their bodies and their relationships with each other and the planet. Your engagement and actions will support the realisation of the Lao government’s commitments made at the Nairobi summit in 2019 and progress towards the sustainable development goals.”

She further added that UNFPA will establish a youth advisory panel to urge youth volunteers to partner on youth engagement and programming for adolescents and young people.

A youth volunteer, Souksakhone Xayyalath, who is a year three student of the Faculty of Law and Political Science, National University, expressed his excitement to participate in the training. He said, “I have learned about Noi Ecosystem and Noi Framework, which I haven’t known before. Besides that, I have broadened my knowledge and understanding of the rights of young people. As a young person, I will surely start to initiate and contribute to making a positive impact on our society.”

Another youth volunteer, Maylisa Thammavongsa, a year three student of the Faculty of Social Science, National University of Laos, said she has a better understanding of the Nang Noi programme. “I feel so happy to participate in this training which I have learned a lot beyond my expectations. I have learned about Nang Noi, which I heard about her before, from the UNFPA Laos Facebook page. And this training has provided me with a deeper understanding.” She further added that the Noi Framework had inspired her to take action to contribute towards achieving Noi 2030.

The campaign “Me, My Body, My Planet, My Future” was first launched in 2019 by UNFPA in collaboration with the Lao Youth Union. The aim is to encourage and engage youth to take actions for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Other joint collaborations to promote youth wellbeing count the Lao Youth and Adolescent Development Strategy 2021-2030 recently endorsed, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) integrated into school curriculums including the boy’s engagement manual, Nang-Noi Girls Groups Programme and youth led response to COVID-19.

All these initiatives aim to empower adolescents and young people, equip them with essential knowledge and life skills to make informed decisions to lead a healthy life and positively influence other peers around them.

Source: Lao News Agency

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chinese leader Xi Jinping greeted U.S. President Joe Biden as “old friend” at the start of their first video meeting, using an expression that Biden has pushed back on. In China, the expression “lao peng you” connotes fondness and shows a level of familiarity and trust, and when said by Xi, 68, reflects a shared history that dates to August 2011, when the two held hours of conversations and travelled in Sichuan province – before either had reached the highest office. Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization, said Xi’s use of the expression… Continue reading “‘Old friends?’ For Xi and Biden, not necessarily”

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has set a focal agricultural development measure for 2022 by accelerating the allocation of agricultural production areas across the country, particularly priority areas in the provinces along the Laos-China railway and expressway corridors and provinces with untapped potentials.

Mr Phet Phomphiphak, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry told the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Ninth National Assembly on November 4 that the measure is designed to be in line with the ecosystem of crops and animals that will be farmed for commercial and export purposes, to attract domestic and foreign investments by devicing enabling policies and creating conducive investment environment.

It will also focus on improving production capacity by prioritizing commercial production, agricultural production groups, associations and cooperatives in a bid to facilitate promotion, access to capital and market information.

The plan will also focus on boosting processing industry by building modern facilities, developing production infrastructure including rice mills, sawmills, drying facilities, composting plants, slaughterhouses and goods loading stations at railway stations and apply modern production techniques to cut costs.

“We will continue to coordinate with relevant sectors to create favorable conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises, improve their access to funding and increase exports, especially to China,” said Minister Phet. “At present and in the future, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will focus on promoting livestock production and plantation to ensure income generation for people in rural and remote communities,” said the minister.

Source: Lao News Agency

Revenue collection in the last ten months reached 20.4 trillion kip, equivalent to 74% of annual target set for 2021, Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh told the 2nd Ordinary Session of the National Assembly’s 9 legislature yesterday.

“Given the time left, there are a lot of challenges. However, the government will make more efforts in promoting revenue collection and tapping new revenue sources – mining sector, encouraging businesses to hold shares in state enterprises,” said PM Phankham.

The government is likely to achieve its 2021 annual revenue collection plan at 26.9 trillion kip, fulfilling 98% of the target set for the year.

Briefing the NA’s meeting on the national socio-economic development over the past months, the premier noted the government’s achievements in tackling illegal currency changers and launching key plans of action with respect to the promotion of production, tackling unemployment issues, and social-cultural development, as well as its efforts made in combating Covid-19.

He claimed that more than 3.28 million people, representing 44.78% of population in the country, have been administered with first doses of Covid-19 vaccine and the number of those fully vaccinated has reached over 2.81 million, representing 38.38% of the population.

The Prime Minister highlighted the government’s noticeable efforts in tackling narcotic drug issues noting that many drug production bases and drug trafficking networks have been destroyed with 1,562 drug traffickers arrested and over 101 million tablets of methamphetamine seized along with large quantity of crystal methamphetamine, opium and heroin.

“In general we could say that our country have enjoyed political stability, peace and order. We have managed to save the economy from falling into crisis and created some fundamental factors for making next steps,” said Prime Minister Phankham.

He assured the National Assembly that over the next three months of the year the government will continue to fulfil targets approved by the assembly and translate the two national agendas on tackling economic difficulties and drugs issues into concrete actions.

As for 2022, the government has decided decisively to make a significant change and breakthrough step in addressing problems related to revenue collection and budget expenditure management to create foundation of self-reliance and self-strengthening while maintaining political stability and peace and order in the society.

The government’s efforts for 2022 will be focused on improving revenue collection and expenditure management through accelerating the use of modern technology along with reshuffling organisational structure of tax authorities and reforming bookkeeping system of businesses and increasing revenue sources through promoting major investment projects of the private sector and the application of modern technology to tackle illegal smuggling.

Source: Lao News Agency

For the second consecutive year, the United States, in partnership with the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI) and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, convened on Oct 29 a Lao-specific forum in parallel with the Indo-Pacific Business Forum taking place in India.

The half-day virtual event was co-chaired by U.S. Ambassador to the Lao PDR Peter M. Haymond and President of LNCCI Oudet Souvannavong. Participants included government officials, industry executives, businesses, and firms, as well as representatives from the U.S. Embassy and development partners.

The Lao Forum focused on digitalization as a means for COVID economic recovery. The Forum is a unique opportunity for business leaders from the Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia, and the United States to exchange insights on digital trends and discuss how they can adapt and thrive to the new economic environment beyond COVID-19.

Ambassador Haymond highlighted the United States and the Lao PDR government’s joint efforts to support businesses during this challenging time. “As part of the U.S.-Lao Comprehensive Partnership, which celebrates its 5th anniversary this year, the United States is deeply committed to supporting the Lao PDR to not only address its current economic challenges, but also build back and prosper beyond COVID-19 in the years ahead,” said Ambassador Haymond.

“COVID has had an enormous impact on the Lao economy and Small and Medium Enterprises. It has accelerated efforts by businesses to digitize. Banks have launched digital services to enable flexible payment arrangements for their customers. Grocery stores, shops, and retailers have amended their business models to focus on online ordering and delivery services. Many schools and universities, especially in Vientiane, have shifted to online learning,” said Mr. Oudet.

The annual Indo-Pacific Business Forum, now in its fourth year, promotes trade, investment and economic cooperation between the United States and its partners throughout the Indo-Pacific region. This year’s regional event highlighted opportunities for U.S. companies and their Indo-Pacific partners to play a leading role in shaping the region’s economic development. This includes major U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Strategy initiatives related to economic recovery and resilience, climate action, and digital innovation.

The agenda included local and regional panel discussions with tech-companies such as LOCA, Food Panda and RDK Laos, LINE MAN Wongnai (Thai tech company), Boost (Cambodian microfinance digital technology startup), and SocialGiver (Thai tech company).

The panel discussion topics included: “Enhancing the digital capabilities of Lao SMEs to accelerate recovery from COVID-19 and lay the groundwork for long-term business growth” and “How Technology Leaders are Innovating in the Face of COVID-19”. The event also included a virtual link to the regional Forum’s panel of Fortune 500 tech companies on cloud and cybersecurity, as well as a keynote speech from Google’s Business Lead for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, who discussed Google’s initiatives related to COVID resiliency.

Source: Lao News Agency