The United States-Lao PDR Relationship

Secretary Blinken will travel to Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), from October 10 to 11 to participate in the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – United States Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit (EAS).  While in the Lao PDR, the Secretary will also congratulate Laos on a productive year hosting as ASEAN chair.  The United States strongly supports the Lao PDR’s ASEAN chair year theme of Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience.

The United States and the Lao PDR continue to broaden bilateral cooperation on a range of issues including health and education assistance, environmental protection, trade, legal reform, counter-narcotics, law enforcement cooperation, humanitarian assistance, disability rights, and English language training, among others.  The Secretary’s visit will serve to deepen our bilateral relationship and expand opportunities for U.S.-Lao PDR engagement.

The United States and the Lao PDR: Development Assistance, Expanding People-to-People Ties, War Legacies Reconciliation, and Law Enforcement and Justice Sector Cooperation

• Development Assistance:
• U.S. development cooperation has expanded significantly since the U.S.-Laos Comprehensive Partnership began in 2016.  USAID’s annual budget has increased from approximately $7 million in 2016 to over $48 million this year, supporting programs in health, education, economic growth, energy, environment, and governance.
• In the health sector, USAID has worked with the Ministry of Health to start up and expand support for Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition, disability, and health security programs.
• USAID support through UNICEF led to the creation of a Primary Health Care law, while funding to the WHO enabled the installation of oxygen piping in Savannakhet hospital as well as digitized vaccination tracking as part of our continued support to strengthen post-COVID-19 health sector service delivery.
• USAID provided support for HIV self-testing through a local pharmacy distribution pilot. USAID also collaborated with the Thailand International Cooperation Agency to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination in health facilities and to provide joint malaria prevention training.
• USAID helped the Lao PDR government simplify business regulations and improve transparency, cutting costs for applicants by reducing the timeline to obtain a Business Registration Certificate by 97 percent, from 173 to 5 days.  It also enhanced Laos’s trade potential by shortening the border clearance process for import/export by over 50 percent, from 9.4 hours to 4.8 hours.
• USAID provided $3.4 million in cost-share grants to over 400 micro and small enterprises that improved productivity and Laos’s overall competitiveness in the region, resulting in a 50 percent increase in sales growth of USAID-supported firms compared to non-supported firms of similar size in similar sectors.
• In the energy sector, USAID partners with the World Bank to support state owned enterprise reform, including Électricité du Laos (EdL), and with the Asian Development Bank to launch a new Frontier investment fund for renewable energy projects.  USAID contributes to the Japan-U.S. Mekong Power Partnership (JUMPP) to support the integration of wind and solar energy.  Leveraging expertise from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the United States, USAID supports the implementation of the Lao PDR’s electric vehicle (EV) policy, and recently promoted the efficiency of EdL with nearly $1 million of hardware and software upgrades.
• The Lao education system was significantly impacted by the pandemic, and student enrollment remains reduced due to economic challenges faced by families.  USAID is working to promote primary and secondary education to ensure that Lao youth have access to the knowledge and skills needed to support Laos’s economic growth.  With USAID support, millions of textbooks and storybooks are now enriching the educational experience of children across the country, preventing school dropouts, and preparing the next generation for future success.
• USAID partnered with the National University of Laos (NUOL) and regional universities in Laos to help them strengthen their capacity.  The NUOL Faculty of Economic and Business Management was accredited this year to join the ASEAN University Network.  USAID is expanding its higher education programming, including scholarships to students and teachers to pursue degrees and professional certification in Laos and abroad, including to U.S. universities.  Programming will provide English language training to prepare students and faculty members for international study.
• USAID is promoting good governance in Laos, including funding to UNDP to partner with the Lao government to build a stronger national development planning and financing system, including improvements to the National Socio-Economic Development Plan process and the National Round Table process.
• USAID is partnering with the Lao National Assembly to strengthen the capacity of parliamentary bodies at the national and provincial levels.  The project is gearing up to provide ICT (Information and Communications Technology) equipment and technical assistance so representatives can effectively carry out their important duties and reach constituents in rural communities.
• With the Asia Foundation, USAID supported the Lao Ministry of Justice to expand legal services to communities and triple the number of legal aid offices across the country.  The USAID Legal Aid Support project has provided over 70 scholarships to students who are pursuing a law career at the National Institute of Justice.
• Funding for Countering Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) is supporting the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, the Lao Women’s Union, and local organizations to provide support to over 900 victims of trafficking and at-risk populations with protection services and economic resilience opportunities.
• Since 2011 USAID, in partnership with the WHO and other development partners, has supported the Lao government to map the extent of lymphatic filariasis and run large-scale treatment programs.  After years of treatment with safe, effective medicines and close monitoring to assess its spread, in October 2023, the WHO declared this disease was no longer a public health concern in Laos.
• Through the Japan-U.S.-Mekong Power Partnership (JUMPP), the United States is providing assistance to Laos supporting clean energy deployment, regional power trade and electrical interconnectivity, and increasing Lao grid operators and energy regulators on cross-border power trade to increase regional interconnectivity and trade on existing transmission infrastructure. To date, JUMPP has delivered more than 80 technical cooperation projects across three pillars:  national and regional electricity market development and investment, clean energy deployment, and regional power trade.
• In late September, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) committed its first deal in Laos:  a loan portfolio guarantee (LPG) to Phongsavanh Bank that will provide $5 million to Village Funds, which will use the money to give micro loans to rural farmers, thereby improving their abilities to grow their businesses, incomes, and livelihoods. DFC’s investment was seeded with $300,000 from USAID.
• The Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), with funding from the Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP), provides assistance to train lawyers from the Ministry of Justice, Economic Dispute Resolution Center, Lao Bar Association, and faculty from the National University of Laos on international commercial arbitration to provide a more open and impartial environment for dispute resolution in the country, including support for the establishment of an alternative dispute resolution institution independent from the Ministry of Justice.
• CLDP also provides assistance to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and other Lao PDR ministries on key topics related to public-private partnerships to help build government capacity to undertake infrastructure projects with private investors.  As the country prepares its new legal framework for public-private partnerships, CLDP will continue to provide support to MPI and relevant ministries.
• Since 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested over $175 million in Laos through the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (McGovern-Dole), providing school meals to boost literacy and primary education, especially for girls, across the country.  In addition to donating over 56,000 MT (Metric Tons) of U.S.-grown commodities, USDA also supports the local and regional procurement of commodities to provide nutritious school meals.  On September 24, 2024, USDA Secretary Vilsack announced Laos as a recipient of a FY 2024 McGovern-Dole five-year award of $27.5 million, to be implemented by the World Food Program, which is expected to reach 117,000 school children in 702 schools.
• Between 2017 and 2024, USDA funded a $20.8 million Food for Progress program titled Creating Linkages for Expanded Agricultural Networks (CLEAN) to build the capacity of private sector partners to meet the growing demand for high quality agricultural products in regional and international markets.
• Through INDOPACOM’s Center for Excellence in Disaster Management, the Department of Defense has provided Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief training to officials across the spectrum of the Lao government.  Medical training and exercises centered around building a whole-of-government approach to disaster scenarios have been used to prepare the country for the impact of climate change.
• The Defense Threat Reduction Agency works with Lao partners to build host-nation capacity in biosafety, biosecurity, and biosurveillance.  Programs such as the Field Epidemiology Training course help enhance the Lao interagency capacity to manage biological risks and provide early and accurate warning of biological threats.
• Since 2009, USINDOPACOM has completed $30 million in humanitarian infrastructure projects focused on education, medical, storage, and sanitation facilities around the country. These projects are executed by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
• Currently, USACE has four U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Humanitarian Assistance projects ongoing at $3.4 million and three more planned at $1.5 million.  USACE also supported the Lao PDR’s Dam Safety efforts from 2019 to 2022 and will be working with its Ministry of Energy and Mines to restart this important project in FY 2025.
• The Department of State has provided $5.5 million to fund a new program that will improve the quality of medical services provided by Lao PDR Military Hospitals through training on topics such as general medicine, lab, emergency, trauma, surgical, and specialty training, along with the provision of medical equipment.
• In September 2024 the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) awarded an $800,000 Gender Equity and Equality Action (GEEA) Fund grant for Embassy Vientiane to expand intellectual property (IP) protections for artisan-produced Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) though a digital database model.  Project outcomes include increased competitive advantages for small-scale producers, digital skills and IP training for women artisans, and normalizing sui-generis IP protections in Laos.
• Since 2022, the Women Overcoming the World’s Climate Crisis through STEM (WOW CCs) project, funded by S/GWI with $1.5 million from the Gender Equity and Equality Action (GEEA) Fund, has supported a national, women-led coalition of civil society organizations in Laos implementing STEM-based solutions to mitigate or promote adaptation to the negative effects of climate change.  Implemented by Save the Children, WOW CCs provides training on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), climate change, and coalition building while also funding small grants to implement innovative, community-led mitigation and adaptation solutions in sectors like agriculture and waste management.
• Under the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP), the Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) is funding an expansion of the Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs (WE Inspire) program in the Lao PDR.  Implemented by the Kenan Foundation Asia to provide fundamental business skills and health training to under-served women in rural communities, the WE Inspire program is set to begin operating in Laos by the end of 2024.
• Implemented by Michigan State University and the Kenan Foundation Asia, the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP) has launched the Mekong Ecotourism Futures program to train 100 youth from the five Mekong sub-region countries.  From October 2024 to September 2026, 20 youth from the Lao PDR will learn fundamental business skills to launch an ecotourism business.  An additional two participants from the Lao PDR will also travel to Michigan State University for advanced training over three weeks and then act as a mentor for the next cohort.
• Through MUSP, the Department of Transportation provides technical assistance to the Lao PDR Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Ministry of Finance officials on public-private partnerships and innovative financing opportunities for transportation infrastructure projects.
• Expanding People-to-People Ties:
• The strong bonds between the people of the United States and the people of the Lao PDR lie at the heart of the bilateral relationship. A range of educational and cultural programs that span nearly seven decades have enhanced our people-to-people ties.  The current American Center in Vientiane continues to serve as a focal point of our cultural and educational engagements, offering over 730 free programs to Lao youth and attracting approximately 15,000 visitors in 2023, with those numbers on track to be surpassed in 2024. Most recently, an education fair at the American Center in September 2024 attracted almost 1,000 visitors in a single day.
• Demand for English language instruction is high in Laos, whose population is the youngest of any country within ASEAN. Our English programs help meet this demand. We recently welcomed the arrival of 14 English Language Fellows and Fulbright English Teaching Assistants, who will be based at academic institutions throughout the country.
• Our education exchange programs continue to grow across all age groups and fields.  Undergraduate scholarships for Lao students have doubled since 2021.  Fulbright master’s degree scholarships have also doubled, while Fulbright Visiting Scholars have tripled in 2024.  Lao participants in YSEALI (Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative) study programs in the United States have almost doubled from 2023 to 2024.
• Since its inception in 2001, the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) has provided in Laos over $1.5 million to support the preservation of archeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, museum collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression, such as indigenous language and crafts.  AFCP’s assistance in preserving historic Lao sites like Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang, a World Heritage site, has helped support the 2024 Visit Laos Year, a Lao PDR priority.
• Visitors from the United States support Lao PDR’s “Visit Laos Year” tourism goals and seek economic opportunities that benefit both countries. The United States maintained its fifth-place position as a source of tourists visiting Laos in 2023.  With 62,660 U.S. citizen visitors, the 2023 numbers were the highest on record.
• War Legacies Reconciliation:
• Since 1995, the United States has provided more than $391 million to address the legacy of the Indochina Wars by locating and destroying unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the Lao PDR.  This life-saving work to locate and destroy UXO is making more land safe for agriculture, infrastructure, and tourism, and driving critical economic development across Laos.
• The U.S. UXO program in the Lao PDR has expanded significantly, tripling U.S.-funded UXO teams from 70 in 2020 to 210 UXO teams in 2024; over the past year, this includes training, equipping, and deploying 40 additional clearance teams and expanding into two additional provinces.
• In FY 2023, the United States funded UXO clearance of 41,150,467 square meters of land (10,169 acres), destroyed over 51,100 explosive hazards, educated over 151,000 Lao citizens about the risk of explosive hazards, and provided medical assistance to 29 citizens who were victims of UXO accidents.
• The United States has been a strong partner with the Lao PDR in improving the health and well-being of persons with disabilities, regardless of cause.  The USAID Okard project was just extended for a second five-year period for a total of $30 million.  Okard (Lao for “opportunity”) will promote disability inclusive development through social protection, rehabilitation, and economic opportunities while fostering collaboration between the Lao government and civil society organizations.
• The Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement also expanded its grant funding to the U.S. Medical Fund for UXO with more than $550,000 in additional funding to provide services to victims of UXO accidents and over $82,000 to renovate the Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise (COPE) visitor center, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people with mobility-related disabilities through rehabilitation/therapy, prosthetics, and medical intervention.
• The POW/MIA recovery effort, dating to 1985, is the longest-enduring example of U.S.-Lao PDR cooperation.  After 168 joint missions, DPAA has recovered and identified 290 of the original 576 missing in Laos.  However, the remaining cases are increasingly difficult as the effects of time (environmental change, witnesses aging, and industrialization) present challenges to field work.
• Law Enforcement and Justice Sector Cooperation:
• Since 1989, the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) has supported the Lao PDR to counter narcotics trafficking.  These efforts have resulted in the reduction of opium poppy cultivation from 42,000 hectares to 5,000 hectares as of 2023, an 88 percent reduction.
• U.S. support for alternative crop development programs in Houaphanh province, teaching former opium farmers to grow coffee, was so successful that in 2023, we expanded our support to include Phongsaly province at the request of provincial and central authorities.
• In recent years our counter narcotics cooperation has expanded to help Lao law enforcement address the growing volumes of synthetic drugs trafficked through the country to its neighbors in the region and beyond.
• Capacity building efforts have focused on tightening border security in high intensity traffic areas.  These efforts have been facilitated by a strong partnership with the Lao Customs Department and have also included relevant police officers under the Ministry of Public Security.
• INL has also funded new infrastructure construction to advance shared objectives to counter transnational organized crime.  For the Lao Customs Department this includes approximately $2 million for warehouses in Vientiane and Luang Namtha for storage of seized illicit goods and substances, and the upcoming construction of a new $8 million headquarters and training facility.
• Since 2021, the INL Office of Export Control Cooperation, in cooperation with the EU Partner-to-Partner Programme, has supported development of a legal regulatory framework for strategic trade management in the Lao PDR.  In November 2023, the Lao National Assembly passed the Decree on the Management of Dual-Use Goods.  This legislation regulates the export of strategic goods and technologies having both civilian and military or proliferation applications.  Cooperation with the Lao PDR on the development of implementing rules and regulations for the decree is ongoing.
• Other new infrastructure funded by INL includes $2.5 million to build new offices for prosecutors in northern regions of Laos near high intensity drug trafficking routes.
• At the same time, we are supporting the modernization of drug treatment in the Lao PDR with the introduction and expansion of evidence-based treatment methodologies.
• Support has expanded from drug demand reduction to wider engagement on transnational organized crime, including targeted focus on building the technical skills needed to address the proliferation of online scam operations that exploit tens of thousands of people in forced labor and sex trafficking, and which defraud individuals around the world, including in the United States, of billions of dollars annually.
• To address cyber scam centers and associated human trafficking, INL launched a new $7 million project with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
• Through the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration’s Asia Regional Migration Program with IOM, the United States has also contributed more than $630,000 to support improved migration management and capacity-building initiatives in Laos since FY2022.
• INL assistance also supports building Lao capability against money laundering, which hardens Laos against becoming a hub for illicit financial flows while also assisting the country to respond effectively to recommendations from the Financial Action Task Forces Mutual Evaluation.
• While expanding support in these areas, INL has built new relationships with the prosecution service and judiciary in the Lao PDR that has facilitated deeper cooperation in the justice sector.
• Other justice sector cooperation includes support for the empowerment of lawyers in the country through the strengthening of the Lao Bar Association, efforts that have already contributed to an increase in the overall number of lawyers in the country and for concrete actions to address gender inequities in the profession.