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Construction of a building of the small and medium-sized enterprise promotion department in the campus of the Lao Ministry of Industry and Trade, funded by the Vietnamese Association in Vientiane capital, commenced on December 22.

The Indonesian government on December 20 removed the entry ban for travellers from China's Hong Kong ahead of year-end holidays while putting the UK, Norway and Denmark into the travel ban list due to concerns related to Omicron variant in the three countries.

The Lao National Earthquake Data Centre announced that the country recorded two consecutive earthquakes at 4am on December 20 in the northern province of Xayaboury.

High-ranking delegations from the central province of Quang Binh and the Lao province of Khammoune signed a cooperation agreement during their talks at Cha Lo international border gate in Quang Binh on December 17.

Lao government has announced a plan to reopen to foreign visitors starting from January 1, 2022, according to a notice issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

The Lao economy is projected to grow by 4.2 percent in 2022, driven by commercial production for exports and opportunities and benefits arising from the China-Laos Railway, reported Vientiane Times on December 17.

The eighth theoretical workshop between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) took place via videoconference on December 16.

The Lao government has approved the ‘Lao Travel Green Zone’ programme with an aim to welcome back tourists from January 2022.

The police in Bokeo province 340km northwest of Lao capital Vientiane, have seized 7.2 tonnes of substances that are used for the production of drugs.

More than 100 Vietnamese and Lao military doctors provided health checkup for over 2,000 border residents of the two countries from December 5-8.

Lao authorities have ordered stricter control at borders with neighbouring countries after the first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was confirmed in Thailand on December 6.

The leaders of the inspection commissions of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee held talks via videoconference on December 8.

President of the Lao National Assembly Xaysomphone Phomvihane left Hanoi on December 8 afternoon, successfully concluding his official visit to Vietnam from December 6-8 at the invitation of NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) Nguyen Dinh Khang on December 7 suggested the VGCL and the Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) step up online exchanges amid the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.