Open Site - Regional: Asia: Laos: Transnational Issues: Foreign Relations

Top: Regional: Asia: Laos: Transnational Issues: Foreign Relations

[ history ]

Overview

The new 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 maintains a "special relationship" with Vietnam and formalized a 1977 treaty of friendship and cooperation that created tensions with China. Relations with China have also improved over the years. 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’s 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' emergence from international isolation has been marked by improved and expanded relations with other nations such as Australia, France, Japan, Sweden, and India. 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. Currently, Laos’ foreign policy concentrates on its immediate neighbors. Laos maintains a low profile in the larger international arena.

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).

[ history ]

United States Relations

The United States opened a legation in Laos in 1950. Although diplomatic relations were never severed, U.S.-Lao relations deteriorated badly in the post-Indochina War period. The relationship remained cool until 1982 when efforts at improvement began. Full diplomatic relations were restored in 1992 with the assignment of a U.S. Ambassador in Laos. For the United States, progress in accounting for Americans missing in Laos from the Vietnam War has been a principal measure for improving relations. 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 transshipment of opium, heroin, and marijuana.

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. In counternarcotics activities, the U.S. and Laos are involved in a multimillion-dollar crop substitution/integrated rural development program. Laos also has formed its own national committee on narcotics, developed a long-range strategy for counternarcotics activities, participated in U.S.-sponsored narcotics training programs, and worked to improve law enforcement measures to combat the narcotics problem.

The U.S. Government provides foreign assistance to Laos covers a number of areas. The aid includes support for Laos' efforts to suppress opium production, training and equipment for a program to clear and dispose of unexploded ordnance, and public education about the dangers of unexploded ordnance. Economic relations remain very limited. In September 2003, Laos and the United States signed a Bilateral Trade Agreement. For the agreement to come into force, Congress must approve normal trade relations.