FOREIGN
RELATIONS
The government that assumed power in December 1975 aligned itself with the Soviet bloc and adopted a hostile posture toward the West. In ensuing decades, Laos maintained close ties with the former Soviet Union and its eastern bloc allies, and depended heavily on the Soviet Union for most of its foreign assistance. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Laos has sought to improve relations with its regional neighbors. Laos was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 1997 and applied to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1998. The government hopes to accede to the WTO by 2010. Currently, Laos’ foreign policy concentrates on its immediate neighbors. Laos generally maintains a low profile in the larger international arena, although it has been playing an increasing role in activities of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Laos maintains a "special relationship" with Vietnam and formalized a 1977 treaty of friendship and cooperation that created tensions with China. Although the two were allies during the Vietnam War, the China-Vietnam conflict in 1979 led to a sharp deterioration in Sino-Lao relations. These relations began to improve in the late 1980s. In 1989 Sino-Lao relations were normalized. Today China is becoming a major player in Laos; Chinese investment in Laos is increasing at a rapid rate, and Chinese immigration to Laos is growing. Thailand remains the largest single foreign investor in Laos. In 2003, Laos and Thailand signed agreements to cooperate on cross-border, labor, and counternarcotics issues. Laos and Thailand signed a joint communique in March 2007, the first in 20 years, covering infrastructure development, avian influenza, border control, and Hmong migration issues.
Laos is
a member of the following international organizations: Agency
for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT), Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA),
ASEAN Regional Forum, Asian Development Bank, Colombo Plan, Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP), Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), G-77, International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (World Bank), International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO), International Development Association (IDA), International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Finance
Corporation (IFC), International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies, International Labor Organization (ILO), International
Monetary Fund (IMF), Interpol, International Olympic Commission
(IOC), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Mekong Group,
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA),
UN, United Nations Convention on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),
United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Universal
Postal Union (UPU), World Federation of Trade Unions, World Health
Organization (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),
World Meteorological Organization (WMO), World Tourism Organization,
and World Trade Organization (observer).
U.S.-LAO
RELATIONS
The United States opened a legation in Laos in 1950. Although diplomatic relations were never severed, U.S.-Lao relations deteriorated during in the post-Indochina War period after 1975. The relationship remained cool until 1982 when efforts at improvement began. Full diplomatic relations were restored in 1992 with a return to ambassadorial-level representation. Accounting for Americans missing in Laos from the Vietnam War has been a special focus of our bilateral relationship. Since the late 1980s, joint U.S. and Lao teams have conducted a series of excavations and investigations of sites related to cases of Americans missing in Laos.
Counternarcotics activities are also an important part of the bilateral relationship as the Lao Government has stepped up its efforts to combat cultivation; production; and shipment of opium, heroin, and marijuana. The United States and Laos cooperate closely on opium crop control projects that helped to bring about a 96% decline in poppy cultivation, from 42,000 hectares in 1989 to 1700 hectares in 2006. Laos, however, remains on the U.S. list of major opium producers. U.S.-sponsored demand reduction programs have increased Laos’ capacity to treat both narcotic and amphetamine addiction. The U.S. also provides law enforcement assistance to help contend with the rapid growth in methamphetamine abuse and crime that has occurred in Laos since 2003.
The U.S. Government provided more than $11 million in foreign assistance to Laos in FY 2007, in areas including unexploded ordnance clearance and removal, counternarcotics, health and avian influenza, education, economic development, and governance.
In December 2004, the President signed into law a bill extending normal trade relations to Laos; in February 2005, a Bilateral Trade Agreement between the United States and Laos entered into force. There has been a consequent rise in Lao exports to the U.S., although the volume of trade remains small in absolute terms. Bilateral trade reached $25.4 million in 2007, compared with $15.7 million in 2006. The Lao Government is working to implement the provisions of the Bilateral Trade Agreement while simultaneously seeking to join the World Trade Organization.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Ravic R. Huso
Deputy Chief of Mission--Mary Grace McGeehan
The U.S. Embassy in Laos is on Rue Bartholonie, That Dam, Vientiane; tel: 21-26-7000; fax: 21-26-7190: country code: (856); city code (21).
