Laos will assume the chairmanship of Asean in 2016 and in that capacity will host all Asean and East Asian Summits that year along with other high level meetings, which will bring hundreds of international delegations to Laos.
Vientiane Times/ANN January 7, 2015 6:31 pm
Laos will assume the chairmanship of Asean in 2016 and in that capacity will host all Asean and East Asian Summits that year along with other high level meetings, which will bring hundreds of international delegations to Laos.
Malaysia is Asean Chair in 2015, taking the baton from Myanmar.
Laos, the United States and Brunei will provide English language training to Lao officials to help them prepare for the country’s chairmanship.
The expanded programme will bring two additional English Language Fellows, one from the United States and one from Brunei, who will arrive in Laos in early January to train 150-200 security and liaison officials over a 10-month period.
The English Language Fellows will help the Lao security and liaison officials to effectively communicate in English with their counterparts from other countries.
English is the primary language of engagement among Asean members and there is a strong need for government officials to have a good command of it in order to carry out their professional duties and for Laos to have a successful year as Asean chair.
The Lao Security and Liaison Officials programme is an expansion of the existing Brunei-US English-Language Enrichment Programme for Asean, now entering its third year, which has trained officials from various Lao ministries at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Institute of Foreign Affairs.
The programme strengthens Asean integration by building English language capability, promoting greater awareness of the rich cultural diversity that exists and facilitating communication between teacher-trainers, officers and diplomats in the region.