Laos in 2005

Laos in 2005

Area: 236,800 sq km (91,429 sq mi)
Population (2005 est.): 5,924,000
Capital: Vientiane
Chief of state: President Khamtay Siphandone
Head of government:Prime Minister Bounngang Vorachith

For Laos 2005 was a year for self-congratulation. On Nov. 29–30, 2004, for the first time since joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1997, Laos hosted the annual ASEAN summit. This brought together not only the leaders of the 10 member states but also leaders of countries with official dialogue status (China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand). This was followed by the 38th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Vientiane on July 26, 2005.

Both meetings taxed the capacity of Vientiane to the maximum in terms of accommodations and security. Four small explosions were reported in the days leading up to the summit, all well outside the city limits and causing no casualties or significant damage. Security was understandably tight for both occasions, with limits imposed on the movement of people and vehicles. Elsewhere in the country, the Hmong insurgency seemed to have all but collapsed as bedraggled remnants gave themselves up to authorities.

The importance of these international meetings for Laos lay not just in the agreements signed—notably the Vientiane Action Programme (VAP), designed to reduce the socioeconomic gap between the wealthier ASEAN states and the poorer ones, including Laos—but also in the international attention Laos received and the boost given to the country’s self-esteem. Establishment of an ASEAN Development Fund under the VAP was especially likely to benefit Laos.

Confidence was also boosted by the agreement of the World Bank finally to back construction of the massive $1.2 billion Nam Theun II Dam in central Laos. The dam would produce 1,070 MW of power when completed in six years. Income from the project was to be earmarked for the country’s poverty-reduction program.

Laos was also looking forward to increased revenue from mining. In early 2005 copper production began at the Australian-owned mine in southern Sepone province. Other new mines were in the planning stage elsewhere in the country. The government expected revenue from mining taxes and royalties to reach $460 million annually by 2020, a figure almost double the country’s total revenue for 2003–04.

Martin Stuart-Fox