Fourth LMI English Seminar Closes in Vientiane

The U.S. Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Institute for International Affairs concluded the fourth of six planned seminars aimed at improving the English skills of Lao officials working on health, environment, and infrastructure issues.  Deputy Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Embassy to the Lao P.D.R. Kenneth Kosakowski and Deputy Director General of…

LMI design folder 1 of 2

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Endangered Species Application Presented to Mobile Solutions Workshop

On January 6, members of the USAID-funded Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking Program (ARREST) team presented Wildscan to the Mobile Solutions for Development Workshop at the Regional Development Mission Asia’s Regional Training Center in Bangkok, Thailand.Wildscan is an endangered species identification and response smartphone application currently under development with Vimi.co., Ltd., and is expected to be released…

Mobile Malaria Workers Drive Down Cases in Rural Myanmar

People in the remote village of War Taw in southern Myanmar often do battle with malaria. Here, villagers earn their living working in and around forests that harbor malaria-carrying mosquitoes, but health services are scarce and far away.Villagers who contracted serious illnesses like malaria and needed professional health care often had to travel across the…

Asian Youth Tackle Environmental Issues

They came from all over Southeast Asia and met on the beach.  And cleaned it.  Without pay.  That’s not all.  They had to compete for the opportunity.“You need to step outside your comfort zone and make a difference,” said Thai volunteer Rungtip Junlah when asked why she joined in.  “Volunteering is another way you can…

ASEAN Negotiators Explore Ways for Liberalization of Trade in Services

Recognizing the importance of services trade liberalization for the successful formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015, the USAID’s ASEAN Connectivity through Trade and Investment (ACTI) project supported a workshop on Trade in Services Scheduling last month in Luang Prabang, Laos.Under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS), each ASEAN Member State (AMS)…

Rule of Law Roadshow in Cambodia

The Human Right Resource Center, with the support of USAID/RDMA, hosted a conference entitled “The Rule of Law in ASEAN: Prospects and Challenges for the Business Community in Cambodia for 2015 and Beyond”.Government and NGO officials, as well as representatives of business associations attended the event.  H.E. Dato Param Cumaraswamy, Advocate and Former Special Rapporteur…

Myanmar Officials Prepare for ASEAN Chairmanship in Washington, D.C.

In mid-December, USAID and the U.S. Department of State welcomed a delegation of ten senior officials from Myanmar to Washington, D.C. to discuss Myanmar's ASEAN chairmanship in 2014.Over the three days, the delegation had a number of fruitful meetings with officials from the U.S. Department of State, USAID, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of…

Myanmar Legal Changes for National Single Window is on the Way

In response to Myanmar Custom’s request to USAID to identify legal gaps in domestic laws, in November 2013 Prof. William J. Luddy, a world-renowned legal expert for trade facilitation, conducted a comprehensive legal gap analysis to identify potential barriers to the eventual operation of Myanmar’s National Single Window (NSW) and the interoperability between the Myanmar…

The United States and ASEAN Officially Launch New Cooperation Programs

On December 6, 2013, the United States celebrated 36 years of partnership with ASEAN with the launch of two new assistance programs.  The U.S. Agency of International Development and the U.S. Department of State, in cooperation with other U.S. Government agencies, launched two new five-year programs based at the ASEAN Secretariat.  Carrie Thompson, Deputy Mission…

LMI Monthly News Feed – December 2013

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Charity Concert Supports Fin Free Thailand Campaign

On December 21st, Swissôtel Le Concorde Bangkok hosted the Fin Free Charity Concert in support of the Fin Free Thailand campaign.  The U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Patrick Murphy spoke at the event and helped celebrate the group’s work to reduce the shark fin trade in Thailand.  Through support from the USAID-funded Asia’s Regional Response…