Australian FM visits Laos to boost ties

Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop met with Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong during her first official visit to Laos on Saturday.
According to a press release by the Australian Embassy in Vientiane, Bishop discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues with the Lao prime minister during their meeting.
During her two-day trip to Laos, the foreign minister has sought to continue the momentum of growing regional and global cooperation and high-level exchanges between Laos and Australia.
Bishop has also emphasized Australia's commitment to continued support to Laos' economic development. Australia is one of Laos' major development partners with an annual program worth over 60 million Australian dollars (56 million U.S. dollars).
Australia actively supports Laos in the fields of education, human resource development, rural development, unexploded ordnance clearance and victim support, trade and business reform, national resource management, and market-oriented agricultural research, according to the press release.
During her trip, Bishop also met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and discussed parliamentary cooperation and exchanges with National Assembly President Pany Yathortou.
At a ceremony in Hom Neua primary school, Bishop and Lao Minister for Education and Sport Phankham Viphavanh officially launched Australia's new Basic Education Quality and Access in Laos (BEQUAL) program. The 10-year program aims to improve the quality and accessibility of basic education in Laos and to help the Lao government achieve its goal of universal education for Lao children until grade five.
Implementation of the first four-year phase of the program is expected to cost 86 million Australian dollars (80 million U.S. dollars).
It is expected that the BEQUAL will help an estimated 450,000 Lao children achieve literacy, numeracy and other life skills. The program is expected to strengthen the quality of training in eight Lao Teacher Training colleges and provide infrastructure including the construction or rehabilitation of 300 schools.
Less than three quarters of Lao children currently complete five years of primary school while in some districts only a quarter of girls complete grade five.
Bishop said that Australia would work with the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports to achieve quality education for all Lao children including girls, children from ethnic minority groups, and disabled students.
"There is no more important area I believe than education to support this country's economic development and our goal working with the government of Lao PDR is to achieve primary education of good quality for all Lao children," Bishop said at the program launch.
According to the Australian Embassy, more than 1,000 Lao graduates have studied in Australia under Australian government scholarships. Over 200 students from disadvantaged backgrounds have also received Australian scholarships to obtain qualifications at the National University of Laos.
The Australian foreign minister also met with Minister of Industry and Commerce Khemmani Pholsena and Australian business representatives for discussions on opportunities to strengthen two- way trade.
Bishop also met senior Lao women leaders to discuss Australia's support in promoting women's economic empowerment and leadership. Discussions included incorporating gender parity as a development priority in Laos' next Socio-Economic Development Plan.
In 2012, Laos and Australia celebrated the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two nations.