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1 1 (October 17, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejdm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con res&onal Research Serv ( drib in I L I tiv~ dna e 1914 Updated October 17, 2022 Laos The Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR or Laos) has a population of 7.2 million in a land-locked area around the size of Utah. Laos has been ruled by a single party, the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), for more than four decades. Since a 1986 economic opening, Laos has gradually implemented market-based economic reforms, and in 2013, became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, Laos remains one of Asia's poorest nations. Laos depends heavily on foreign investment-much of it from China-for its infrastructure development. This reliance, as well as rapidly expanding trade with China, has made Laos one of the Southeast Asian nations with the closest relations to Beijing. Many observers express concern that Laos' borrowing to fund infrastructure investment has raised its public debt to dangerous levels. According to a World Bank report published in April 2022, Laos' total public and publicly guaranteed debt reached 88% of GDP in 2021. Laos is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and a partner in the U.S.-Mekong Partnership (formerly called the Lower Mekong Initiative), a sub-regional foreign assistance effort launched by the U.S. State Department in 2009, under which the United States provides assistance to nations that rely on the Mekong River for economic development. Source: CIA World Factbook. U.S.Laos Relations U.S. forces engaged covertly in a civil war in Laos while the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. The United States supported a royalist government in its fight against communist insurgents backed by the North Vietnamese, in part to prevent the transfer of North Vietnamese weapons and supplies to South Vietnam. The United States did not sever diplomatic relations with Laos, as it did with Cambodia and Vietnam, when communist parties in these countries took power in 1975, although it did downgrade U.S. representation in Vientiane. Full diplomatic ties were restored in 1992. In 2016, when Laos served as ASEAN's chair and host of key regional meetings, President Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to visit Laos. Laos is heavily influenced by China and Vietnam. Some observers say the LPDR hopes to offset its reliance on its neighbors, particularly China, by broadening its relations with others, but it is wary about U.S. advocacy for democracy and human rights. U.S. engagement in Laos has focused on addressing Vietnam War legacy issues such as unexploded ordnance (UXO) and helping the LPDR develop the legal and regulatory frameworks it needs to participate in global and regional trade agreements and integrate economically into ASEAN. U.S. and Lao officials meet regularly through ASEAN diplomatic channels as well as the U.S.-Mekong Partnership, which aims to promote cooperation and development among member countries in the areas of economic integration, education, energy, the environment, food security, health, water, and women's empowerment. In 2004, Congress began extending nondiscriminatory treatment to the products of Laos. Trade has grown since then, though Laos is the 157th largest U.S. trade partner. In 2020, total goods trade between Laos and the United States was valued at $129 million. Lao exports to the United States totaled $105 million in 2020, dominated by apparel items and precious metals. U.S. goods exports to Laos amounted to $25 million in 2020. The U.S. government has noted progress and cooperation in some other areas of the bilateral relationship. In 2009, the United States and Laos exchanged defense attaches, the first time in over 30 years, and the Obama Administration removed the prohibition on U.S. Export-Import Bank financing for U.S. companies in Laos, citing the country's commitment to opening its markets. In 2010, the two countries signed a comprehensive Open Skies agreement to expand and liberalize aviation ties. The Defense POW/MIA (Prisoner of War/Missing in Action) Accounting Agency (DPAA) has conducted approximately 150 Joint Field Activities (JFAs) with the LPDR since 1985. Joint efforts have recovered the remains of 288 American service personnel while 285 remain missing. Development Issues Laos's economic growth has been steady, largely fueled by construction, food processing, hydropower, and tourism, but the country performs poorly on many social indicators. Laos has the highest level of child mortality in Southeast Asia, and about one-fourth of Lao children under five years of age are considered underweight. Development of Laos's

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