Laos in 2022: Development Challenges and Opportunities

Located in the center of the Asia-Pacific region, Laos faces many challenges as one of Asia’s least developed economies and Southeast Asia’s only landlocked country. Its geographic location makes Laos extremely vulnerable to climate change and other environmental challenges. While Laos had success managing the early outbreak of Covid-19, the impacts of pandemic lockdowns and closures of businesses in 2021 have severely impacted the country’s fledgling economy, including its many agricultural and small enterprises. It is also true that over the past decade, Laos has greatly improved its education system, environmental policies, and infrastructure. The National Assembly has become increasingly active. On a regional level, Laos is an active member of ASEAN and recently participated in the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, DC.

On the heels of the Laos visit of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the highest-ranking official to visit the country since 2016, The Asia Foundation is pleased to present a discussion with Todd Wassel, our country representative in Laos. Todd will provide an update on the critical issues in Laos from his vantage point in Vientiane. He will also discuss recent initiatives to provide legal aid, advance women’s empowerment, and improve environmental management in the country.

Featuring

Todd Wassel, Country Representative, Laos, The Asia Foundation

Deepening Ties: Prospects for Trilateral Cooperation between the Republic of Korea, the United States, and Vietnam

Despite differences in political ideology, relations between South Korea, the United States, and Vietnam have deepened and evolved since formal diplomatic relations with Vietnam were established more than a quarter-century ago. Overlapping strategic and economic interests have led the three countries to expand ties across a wide spectrum of issues. While economic cooperation has been the main driver of these deepening relations, security issues, especially nontraditional security issues, are notable avenues for cooperation moving forward. Prospects for trilateral relations between the three countries are likely to expand because of challenges and opportunities brought about by unprecedented global and regional dynamics following the Covid-19 pandemic. In December 2021, the first-ever trilateral dialogue between scholars, policymakers, and government officials (Track 1.5) from South Korea, the United States, and Vietnam was held to discuss the political, security, economic, and trade interests that are central to relations between these three countries. This report is based on the discussion of the 2021 trilateral dialogue.

Featuring

Dr. Kang Seonju, Professor, Department of Economy, Trade, and Development Studies, Korea National Diplomatic Academy-Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security

Adam Schwarz, CEO, Asia Group Advisors

Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, Former Deputy Director-General, Vietnam Central Institute for Economic Management;

Moderator

John Brandon, Senior Director, International Relations Programs and Washington, DC Associate Director, The Asia Foundation

Virtual Event – Building Climate Resilience in Asia

The Asia-Pacific is the most disaster-prone region in the world, a status made worse by the increasing impacts of climate change, ranging from increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, including heavy rains and cyclones, often resulting in massive floods, landslides, and storm surge; as well as other severe climatic events, such as heatwaves and droughts. This region is home to half of the world’s top 10 countries at the greatest risk from climate change. Indeed, it is estimated that nearly half of the global economic losses from climate-related disasters will occur in this region in the years to come.

Since 1990, The Asia Foundation has worked with local partners to strengthen climate resilience planning and responses to climate challenges. Our goal is to cultivate leadership within local and national governments and civil society, promote climate-resilient infrastructure in the region through knowledge and best practices sharing, build the capacity of vulnerable communities, particularly women, and engage the private sector in disaster risk reduction and management.

On Wednesday, June 15, please join us for a discussion with environmental experts from Indonesia, Laos, and Nepal, who will share how they are helping to build climate resilience in Asia through diversified project activities, and their policy recommendations for more effective environmental and climate governance in the region.

Featuring:

Pradip Khatiwada, Founder and Executive Director, Youth Innovation Lab, Nepal

Fira Tiyasning Tri Utami, Director of Program and Partnership, Sikola Mombine Foundation, Indonesia

Sopavanh Rassapong, Senior Environment Program Officer, The Asia Foundation, Laos

Moderated by:

Kim J. DeRidder, Director of Environment and Climate Action Programs, The Asia Foundation

Virtual Event – Australasian Aid Conference Speaker Series: US Sins Toward the Developing World

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM UTC+10 (Canberra)

Most international development advocates focus their efforts on aid. But other rich country policies matter as much or more for developing countries’ growth and poverty reduction. Nancy Birdsall puts the spotlight on US policies including trade and intellectual property rights, climate, and anticorruption to weigh up the benefits they bring and the harm they do to the developing countries of the world.

Featuring

Dr. Nancy Birdsall, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development

Register for the event.

Virtual Event – Firm Partners In An Unstable Region: Prospects for Trilateral Cooperation between the Republic of Korea, the United States, and Australia

 

Trilateral Republic of Korea-Australia-United States cooperation is long overdue and as yet untapped. The reasons for this are complex, but with converging interests and the proven success of other regional multilateral frameworks such as the Quad, formalizing ROK-Australia-US cooperation should be imperative for all three governments. These countries are drawn progressively closer by shared security challenges, supply chain, energy security, Covid-19 recovery needs, and the significant benefits of enhanced economic coordination. Firm Partners In An Unstable Region: Prospects for Trilateral Cooperation between the Republic of Korea, the United States, and Australia is based on the discussion of the 2021 ROK-Australia-US Trilateral Dialogue. The ROK-Australia-US Trilateral Dialogue addressed these issues in greater detail, facilitating an exchange of national positions and increasing mutual understanding. The Asia Foundation-Perth US Asia Centre ROK-Australia-US Trilateral Dialogue brought together some of the most senior current and former government officials from all three nations. Importantly, the dialogue also included industry, academia, and think tank representatives, creating an interdisciplinary approach and generating recommendations that blended theory and practice.

Featuring

Cho Jung-Hun, Member of the National Assembly, Republic of Korea
Gordon Flake, Founding CEO, PerthUSAsia Centre, The University of Western Australia
Michael J. Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies
John Brandon, Senior Director, International Relations Programs

Register for this event.

Virtual Event – Addressing Urban Inequities: Shaping an Inclusive Pandemic Recovery in Asia

Since 2020, The Asia Foundation has been working to understand and illustrate the multidimensional impact of Covid-19 on disadvantaged communities in Asian cities. This webinar aims to build on this work by facilitating a forward-looking discussion with experts on framing key priority areas and actions needed to create a more inclusive and sustainable post-pandemic world.

The webinar included a brief presentation of the key findings from our latest GovAsia issue, From Hanoi to Hyderabad – The Impact of Covid-19 on Women and Marginalised Groups in Asian Cities followed by a panel discussion with key experts on (re)building more inclusive cities.

Featuring

Nardia Simpson, Deputy High Commissioner, Australian High Commission Dhaka
Dr. Ayona Datta, Professor, Human Geography, University College London
Miguel Musngi, Senior Officer, Poverty Eradication and Gender Division, ASEAN Secretariat
Dr. Mirza M. Hassan, Head of the Governance and Politics Cluster, BIGD, BRAC University

Moderators

Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj, Country Representative, Bangladesh, The Asia Foundation
Dr. Rebecca Calder
, Director and Co-Founder, Kore Global

 

Virtual Event: Advancing India-Australia-Pacific Islands Development Cooperation

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM IST
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM FJT

The Asia Foundation is organizing a consultation webinar on Advancing India-Australia-Pacific Islands Development Cooperation on March 31st. The webinar follows the 2021 publication of Advancing South-South Cooperation: India’s Development Partnerships with Pacific Island Countries, produced by The Asia Foundation and Research and Information System for Developing Countries and supported by Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The webinar, featuring speakers from India, Australia, and Pacific Island Countries (PICs), will discuss points of convergence between Australia’s and India’s interests in the PICs and provide an opportunity for PICs participants to articulate their priorities to both partner countries. We hope to identify shared priorities through the webinar that can be developed into future bilateral and triangular partnerships in the Pacific region.

Register for the event.

Virtual Launch – Secure Connections Report “Cybersecurity in the Philippines: Global Context and Local Challenges”

10:00 am – 11:00 am PHST

Cybersecurity in the Philippines is the first comprehensive review of cybersecurity in the country. The report explores Philippine cybersecurity governance in a rapidly changing global context amid the growing risks and challenges of accelerated digitalization, reviewing regional and national cybersecurity governance frameworks, analyzing the major cybersecurity issues in key sectors, and recommending ways to improve the nation’s cybersecurity posture. The report is a product of Secure Connections, a coalition of stakeholders working toward the improvement of Philippine cybersecurity. Secure Connections is an initiative of The Asia Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia.

The program will feature opening remarks by Asia Foundation Philippines Country Representative Sam Chittick. It will be followed by the keynote speech of Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Emmanuel Rey R. Caintic. The presentation of the report’s key findings will be given by Secure Connections authors Grace Mirandilla-Santos and William Yu. It will be followed by an open forum and concluded by Angelo Nino Gutierrez of Secure Connections.

Register to attend this event.

Featuring

Michelle Ong, ANC Market Edge

Sam Chittick, Country Representative, The Asia Foundation, Philippines

Emmanuel Rey Caintic, Acting Secretary, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Philippines

Grace Mirandilla-Santos, ICT Policy Analyst, Secure Connections

Dr. William Yu, Network Security Expert, Secure Connections

Carlos Reyes, Director, DICT Cybersecurity Bureau

Dr. Sherwin Ona, Chairperson, Department of Political Science and Development Studies, De La Salle University

Angelo Niño Gutierrez, ICT Policy Researcher, Secure Connections

Virtual Event: The Power of Networks

As we emerge from two years of disconnectedness, eager now to engage more actively with family, friends, colleagues, and broader communities, we ask: How do we continue to show up for ourselves and our people? What connections have kept us stronger together? The Asia Foundation has built robust networks across Asia, demonstrating the power of networks to bring about transformative change. Working with partners like Zendesk, the Foundation is harnessing diverse networks to empower women and promote gender equality.

Featuring

Jane Sloane, Senior Director, Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality Program, The Asia Foundation

Prelini Udayan-Chiechi, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Zendesk

Australasian Aid Conference Speaker Series: Debt Prospects and Challenges for Developing Countries in the Continuing Pandemic

8am ET Monday, February 28, 2022 (Washington, D.C.)
11am AET Tuesday, March 1, 2022 (Canberra)

Developing countries already held precarious levels of sovereign debt prior to Covid-19. Now, over half of all low-income countries are at high risk of or are currently in debt distress, and some middle-income countries face debt sustainability challenges as well. In his address, President of the Center for Global Development Masood Ahmed will lay out the current debt situation, explain initiatives by the global community to promote debt sustainability and restructuring, and present a path forward. The Asia Foundation’s Sofia Shakil will moderate.

Featuring

Masood Ahmed, President, Center for Global Development
Sofia Shakil, Director, Economic Programs, The Asia Foundation

Register for this event.