Laos rank 171, Vietnam rank 78 and earned a spot among the 10 most-improved economies. I though Vietnam is our good buddy, friends and allies. Can't they do more to help Laos with economies development, and help Laos out of UN list of least developing nation  
http://kplnet.net/english/news/edn3.htm

Friends don't help with other countries economies, they only want to help their own country.

Does your friend help you when you're broke?

That's what good friends should do.

Actually, Vietnam helped us during the war, they helped with the recent sporting competition in Vientiane, they help with many other things and Government officials in Vietnam visit Laos regularly. The Government of Laos is responsible to run their economy.

People don't want to start a business or company in Laos just for the sake of it. It depends if they have enough capital and they know that profit will be made. Rankings doesn't mean anything, those who have a business are doing quite well.

Vietnam is helping Laos abit, but they can't help with everything. Alot of their citizens in rural areas are very poor, so they need to fix things in their country. Many people are already saying that Vietnam should stay out of Lao affairs.

I'm not a politicians, sometime politics give me a headaches. I don't worry. I think our good friends Vietnam, our Vietnamese brother will take good care of Laos and Lao people. Viet want what's best for Laos. After 35 year under great Ho Chi Minh socialist. Laos is almost prosper like Singapore.  

Agreed. Drfeelgood Laos government have to step up to encourage more foreign investment in Laos, and improve business ranking. China invested about $1.3 billion in Laos but about $8 billion in Burma. If Burma become a true democracy they are probably as wealthy, and develope like Thailand.

my Point exactly...

New era of development may be dawning in Burma as Asean Economic Community looms
Ads by Google
Cancer Treatment Thailand
Early Detection & Treatment At Leading Hospital - No Waiting.
www.bumrungrad.com/CancerTreatment
French Restaurant Bangkok
Christmas menu, Reveillon de Noel Set lunch 360.00 Baht,live lobster
www.parisbangkok.com
Thailand Retirement Visa
Full Immigration Office Support 100% Success Record! Learn How
www.tilalegal.com/retirement-visaBurma's military leaders have high hopes that last Sunday's general election, the first in two decades, and the release of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, will usher in a new period of national development.


For years, the West has boycotted the Burmese junta and imposed economic sanctions in a bid to pressure the Southeast Asian nation to return to a system of democratic governance.


Until recently, the junta did not budge, but resorted to work privately with just a few Asian nations which were more sympathetic to Burma's situation than the West. Yet time for such a strategy appears to be running out and Burma has no better choice than to open its doors wider to the world after decades of isolation.


Regionally, the country could soon take its turn to be chair of the 10-nation Asean, which is advancing to become a powerful economic grouping of nearly 600 million consumers.


Asean groups together Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma.


The Asean Economic Community (AEC), which will pave the way for a single market with zero import tariffs and easier cross-border investment, will be fully effective in 2015.


In this context, one of Burma's pet mega-projects is to develop a deep-sea port and industrial estate complex in the coastal city of Tavoy (or Dawei). This huge scheme will involve an estimated US$8.6 billion investment under a long-term concession granted to Thailand's largest construction firm Italian-Thai Development.


Given that Burma remains the weakest link within Asean due to its political situation, a successful start of this mega-port would be a blessing, not only for Burma but the entire grouping amid increased global economic uncertainty.


As a group, Asean is a key player on the world stage with a combined GDP of $1.8 trillion this year, making it the world's ninth largest and Asia's third largest economy. In terms of people, Asean accounts for 8.8 per cent of the global population.


Burma, a country comparable to Thailand in terms of the size of both population and area, is no less vital than other Asean countries.


For example, the Greater mekong Sub-region (GMS) development framework would not be complete and effective without Burma.


GMS has gained regional prominence in recent years largely because China, now the world's second largest economy, started to explore alternative shipping routes for its vast exports and to spur the development of its landlocked western areas.


These vast areas could be opened up by GMS's railroads and inland roads via the proposed Tavoy deepsea port. Besides Burma and Thailand, GMS also includes Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.


In addition to China, Japan also has keen interests in the GMS, where energy and other natural resources are still abundant and so too is low-cost labour. In this context, Burma's Tavoy deepsea port and industrial estate complex will figure prominently in the eyes of Chinese, Japanese and other international investors.


For Thailand, the government has been supportive of the Tavoy mega-project in view of the Asean spirit, even though some analysts suggest there should be more government effort to push for implementation of Thailand's southern seaboard development scheme.


Yet the Tavoy mega-project could also be seen as a strategic interest in favour of Thailand at a time when Map Ta Phut industrial area and deepsea port have become congeste