Message from the Ambassador
2016/5/19
Thank you very much for visiting the homepage of the Embassy of Japan in the Lao PDR. My name is Takeshi HIKIHARA, Ambassador of Japan to the Lao PDR since December 8, 2015. When I visited Vientiane for the first time, the comparison between the leisurely, flowing Mekong and the lively Avenue Lane Xang filled with cars and motorbikes made a big impression. What impresses me even more are the wonderful smiles of Lao people I meet everywhere.
The year 2015 marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Lao PDR; the relationship between the two nations has been upgraded to that of “Strategic Partnership” and various fields have been developed. Courtesy visits between leaders of the two nations have been active; the summit meetings have taken place three times this year. The number of Japanese enterprises has doubled in the last two-and-a-half years. In the area of cultural exchange, the “Japan Festival” was held in November and was very successful.
Immediately after my appointment to Laos, I went on a business trip to Pakse in the southern part of Laos to participate in an opening ceremony for a development company in a unique Special Economic Zone. Three days later, I joined the Laos–Japan Public and Private Sectors Joint Dialogues and was very impressed with the enthusiasm of Japanese investors and the sincere support from the Lao side. In the following week, a street dance exchange project called “Dance Dance Asia” was held and attracted a large number of Lao teenagers. At the end of the year, H.E. Mr. Keiichi Ishii, the Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, paid an official visit to the Lao PDR, and the groundbreaking ceremony for the Wattay International Airport Terminal Expansion Project and talks with Lao leaders were also held. I could see that in this period of only half a month, various fields of the exchanges between our two nations have already been deepening.
As well as making every possible effort to strengthen the “Strategic Partnership,” our embassy wishes to support both Lao and Japanese residents in supporting the relationship between our two nations.
With the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community, the Lao PDR will be the first to play an epochal role in holding the presidency of the ASEAN Summit in 2016. A number of Japanese leaders are expected to visit Laos, so our embassy will be busy. Through this remarkable opportunity, we wish to foster the relationship between Japan and Laos and ensure it prospers and I wish everyone a wonderful New Year filled with smiles.
December 28, 2015
Ambassador of Japan to the Lao PDR, Takeshi HIKIHARA
The year 2015 marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Lao PDR; the relationship between the two nations has been upgraded to that of “Strategic Partnership” and various fields have been developed. Courtesy visits between leaders of the two nations have been active; the summit meetings have taken place three times this year. The number of Japanese enterprises has doubled in the last two-and-a-half years. In the area of cultural exchange, the “Japan Festival” was held in November and was very successful.
Immediately after my appointment to Laos, I went on a business trip to Pakse in the southern part of Laos to participate in an opening ceremony for a development company in a unique Special Economic Zone. Three days later, I joined the Laos–Japan Public and Private Sectors Joint Dialogues and was very impressed with the enthusiasm of Japanese investors and the sincere support from the Lao side. In the following week, a street dance exchange project called “Dance Dance Asia” was held and attracted a large number of Lao teenagers. At the end of the year, H.E. Mr. Keiichi Ishii, the Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, paid an official visit to the Lao PDR, and the groundbreaking ceremony for the Wattay International Airport Terminal Expansion Project and talks with Lao leaders were also held. I could see that in this period of only half a month, various fields of the exchanges between our two nations have already been deepening.
As well as making every possible effort to strengthen the “Strategic Partnership,” our embassy wishes to support both Lao and Japanese residents in supporting the relationship between our two nations.
With the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community, the Lao PDR will be the first to play an epochal role in holding the presidency of the ASEAN Summit in 2016. A number of Japanese leaders are expected to visit Laos, so our embassy will be busy. Through this remarkable opportunity, we wish to foster the relationship between Japan and Laos and ensure it prospers and I wish everyone a wonderful New Year filled with smiles.
December 28, 2015
Ambassador of Japan to the Lao PDR, Takeshi HIKIHARA