Laos, UK: Forging Creative Partnerships Through Business
VIENTIANE, LAOS: On Friday, Lord David Puttnam, the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, marked the opening of a workshop on identifying trade opportunities for UK companies in the Lao service industry sector.
Organized by the British Embassy in Vientiane and Emerging Markets Consulting (EMC), more than 50 experts, business people and government representatives met on Friday at Landmark Hotel to openly discuss opportunities in the Lao service sector for British businesses.
Participants included officials from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Economic Research Institute for Trade, representatives of the international community, the UK Trade and Investment Regional Representative as well as representatives of Japanese companies, sharing their experiences of working in the Lao PDR.
The workshop highlighted several service industry subsectors that are particularly promising for British investments and expertise, including opportunities in education, the tourism and hospitality sector, and in financial services.
The conclusions will be incorporated into a comprehensive analysis that will provide a robust evidence base to engage longer term on improving the business environment and bringing more British companies to Laos.
In his opening remarks Lord Puttnam highlighted how trade can contribute to strengthening political ties, as improved trade flows underpin close bilateral relations. He stressed that the UK is determined to fortify business links with Laos, particularly in areas where the UK excels, such as English language training, higher education and financial services.
Britain has a strong ranking in education, traditionally in the top ten countries, with some of the best quality universities and is also the world's leading global financial services centre and the most internationally focused marketplace in the world. Lord Puttnam also highlighted that accessing the Lao market means not just entering a single country. With the introduction of the ASEAN Economic Community, it will increasingly be a free pass to ASEAN, which if considered as a single market, would be the 7th largest economy in the world.
Source- KPL Lao News Agency