VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) - Business cooperation between Laos and Indonesia has been elevated and business-to-business collaboration is being fostered on the lines of the close cooperation between the two governments, a minister has said.
“We are especially broadening business opportunities for state-owned enterprises between the two countries,” Dr Kikeo Chanthabury, the Lao Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, said at a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing a ceremony on business cooperation between Indonesian companies and the Phongsavanh Group in Vientiane recently.
The MOU was signed when Indonesian businesses were on an official trip to Vientiane to explore ways for fruitful cooperation between the two countries. The Indonesian delegation was led by the State-Owned Enterprise Supervision Minister, Ms Rini Soemarno.
The agreement will cover cooperation in coal purchase, railway development, agriculture, and mining of tin, potassium and other minerals.
Dr Kikeo said in the field of business cooperation, Indonesia is the 16th largest source of FDI in Laos and the Planning and Investment Ministry strongly supports investments from Indonesia, especially in projects and potential ventures which have been identified, such as a potassium project in Savannakhet province.
“We have also identified some more sectors, such as agrobusiness and small and medium enterprises, that would enhance and support the existing sectors,” he said.
He also spoke about more business opportunities in Laos and the economic development of the country. Laos is located at the heart of mainland Southeast Asia, providing a link between its neighbouring countries of China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.
Over the past four decades, Laos has enjoyed political stability, which provides an enabling environment for socio-economic development with an average annual economic growth of 7 percent throughout more than two-and-a-half decades, he said.
The Lao government has embarked on an ambitious goal of lifting the country from least developed country status by 2020 and turning it into a middle income nation by 2030, through the 2025 Development Strategy and Five-Year National Socio-economic Development Plan for 2016-20. This vision and strategy constitutes a cornerstone of socio-economic development in Laos for the next 15 years, he said.
To ensure the successful attainment of this ambitious objective, the government is mobilising all public and private stakeholders and society to make their contributions. In this context, public and private investment could play an important role in helping Laos acquire the necessary resources to pursue its development goals, especially in the crucial logistics and infrastructure development.
“I thank the Indonesian business community in Laos and those who are planning to invest here very soon for your valuable contributions to the economy as well as to socio-economic development in Laos,” he said.
“Indonesian businesses in Laos have brought about not only business benefits to both themselves and Lao society, but also enhanced traditional bonds between the Lao and Indonesian people, thus further strengthening friendly relations and cooperation between our two countries.”
