老撾駐香港總領事達堪‧馮斐拉 獻辭 Message from Lao CG

老撾人民民主共和國駐香港總領事 達堪‧馮斐拉 獻辭
Message from Mr. Tardkham PHONGPHILA, Consul General, Consulate General of the Lao P.D.R. Hong Kong SAR & Macao SAR

親愛的讀者們：

請容許本人向你們介紹我國迷人之處，豐厚的文化、古蹟、歷史和商機。

老撾人民民主共和國是東南亞一個和平與政治穩定的國家，全國國土面積達二十三萬六千八百平方公里，全國人口接近六百五十萬，南部與柬埔寨、北與中國、西北與緬甸、西與泰國和東與越南等五國為鄰。老撾人民民主共和國雖是一個內陸國家，但它起着連結東與西、南與北的重要作用。

老撾人民民主共和國已增加與地區和全球經濟的融合，它先後於一九九七年成為東南亞國家聯盟(東盟)和於二零一三年成為世界貿易組織成員國。在過去五年，老撾人民民主共和國的經濟獲得每年接近百分之八的迅速增長。與此同時，我國有幾個領域吸引的外國直接投資也有增加，特別是水電、礦業、農業、林業、旅遊和服務業等。

由於旅遊推廣活動和獲得國際獎項，去年，到訪老撾人民民主共和國的遊客有巨大的增幅。最近，歐洲理事會旅遊與貿易(ECTT)授予老撾「2013世界最佳旅遊目的地」獎項。

老撾人民民主共和國就所有關鍵領域，包括社會經濟、文化、行政和管理進行了立法。在二零零九年，投資促進法最終獲得老撾人民民主共和國國民大會通過，目的是使投資更為方便、快速、符合法律和法規的規定，在政府的保護下，確保投資的權利和角色。

老撾人民民主共和國與中華人民共和國自古以來享有良好的關係。近年來，兩國的雙邊貿易保持快速增長並變得更為平衡，中國仍是老撾最大的投資者之一。在一九九九年，兩國就設立老撾人民民主共和國駐香港特別行政區及澳門特別行政區總領事館達成協議，其後在二零零零年，老撾人民民主共和國總領事館在香港上環正式開館。

東盟與香港是緊密的夥伴，東盟是香港第二大貿易夥伴和第四大服務業夥伴。具體而言，老撾與香港的貿易總額於二零一零年達三百五十萬美元，而二零一一年則為四百五十萬美元。毫無疑問，當東盟與香港簽訂自由貿易協議之後，雙邊貿易定會大幅增加。

最後，本人謹代表老撾人民民主共和國駐香港及澳門總領事館向國際連線雜誌總編輯及所有讀者們對我們的支持予以高度讚賞。此外，本人誠邀商人及人們到我們美麗的國家訪問及開拓商機。

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Message from Mr. Tardkham PHONGPHILA, Consul General, Consulate General of the Lao P.D.R. Hong Kong SAR & Macao SAR

Dear readers,

Allow me to introduce you my charming country rich with culture, heritage, history and business opportunities.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao P.D.R. or LAOS) is a peaceful and politically stable country in South East Asia, with total area of 236,800 km2, with total population of nearly 6.5 million, and sharing border with 5 countries, namely Cambodia in the South, China in the North, Myanmar in the North West, Thailand in the West, and Vietnam in the East. The Lao P.D.R. is a landlocked country but it plays a vital role in linking between the East to the West, and the South to the North.

The Lao P.D.R. has increased its integration into regional and global economy. It became a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1997 and 2013 respectively. In the past 5 years, the Lao PDR’s economy has rapidly grown at nearly 8 percent per annum. It has also increasingly attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to invest in the country in several sectors, especially in hydropower, mining, agriculture, forestry, tourism and service sectors.

The Lao P.D.R. has witnessed a huge increase in tourist arrivals during the past years, thanks to tourism promotion campaigns and international awards. More recently, the European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT) awarded the Lao P.D.R. as “World’s Best Tourist Destination for 2013”.

The Lao P.D.R. has adopted legislation covering all key areas such as socio-economic, cultural, administrative and governing areas. In 2009, Law on Investment Promotion finally passed through the National Assembly of the Lao P.D.R., in order to enable investments expediently, quickly and in conformity with laws and regulations, as protected by the Government, and to ensure the rights and role of investments.

The Lao P.D.R. and the People’s Republic of China enjoys its good relations since the ancient times. In recent years, bilateral trade between the two countries maintained fast growth and became more balanced. China has remained among the top investors of the Lao PDR. In 1999, the two countries reached an agreement on opening Consulate General of the Lao P.D.R. to the Hong Kong SAR and the Macao SAR. Later on in 2000, the Consulate General of the Lao P.D.R. was officially opened in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.

ASEAN and Hong Kong are close partners. ASEAN is the second largest partner of Hong Kong in terms of goods trade and fourth largest in services. To be more specific, total trade volume between the Lao P.D.R. and Hong Kong was about 3.5 million and 4.5 million USD in 2010 and 2011 respectively. It has no doubt that its bilateral trade will sharply increase after signing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between ASEAN and Hong Kong.

Finally, on behalf of the Consulate General of the Lao P.D.R. to the Hong Kong SAR and the Macao SAR, I would like to express my highly appreciation to the editor-in-chief of the International Link Magazine and all readers for your kind support. Also, I would like to invite businesspersons and everybody to visit and explore business opportunities in my beautiful country.

Yours sincerely,

Tardkham PHONGPHILA
Consul General
Consulate General of the Lao P.D.R.
Hong Kong SAR & Macao SAR