International symposium, logistics fair to showcase opportunities

An International Symposium on ASEAN Logistics Connectivity and the first Laos Logistics Fair, scheduled to be held in Vientiane during October 11-12, will showcase opportunities the region can tap, thanks to improved regional logistical links with Laos as a core connector.
The two events are coinciding with the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) 2024, which will be held back-to-back with the ASEAN Summit and summits with the bloc’s dialogue partners. The ASEAN Summit will be held during October 8-11 in Laos, the Chair of the regional grouping for 2024.

Perfectly timely and relevant to Laos’ ASEAN chairmanship theme of “ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience”, both the symposium and the fair are expected to highlight Laos on the regional and global logistics and supply chain maps, unveiling the country’s potential to thousands of foreign government and business leaders, and delegates attending the summits and related sideline events.
Stakeholders from across ASEAN and the rest of the world, including the academic community, will discuss strategies for enhancing logistics and transport networks at the symposium, planned to be held at the Landmark Mekong Riverside Hotel.
A session planned for the first day will navigate how the Laos-China Railway, part of the Belt and Raod Initiative (BRI), could be a game changer for Laos, the only landlocked country in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Opened for service in December 2021, the railway line has transformed Laos into a land link, unlocking the country’s potential to become an important trade gateway between China and Southeast Asia.
The symposium’s sessions will also be dedicated to key topics such as enabling hinterland connectivity, infrastructure development and regional connectivity, developing economic corridors in the Greater Mekong sub-region, cross-border trade facilitation, and developing sustainable logistics practices.
Bringing together key players from across the region, the symposium aims to tackle pressing logistical challenges and pave the way for enhanced regional connectivity.
Jointly organised by the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lao International Truckers and Freight Forwarders Association, and Thanaleng Dry Port (TDP) Sole Co Ltd, the symposium will conclude with a business networking reception.
“The speakers will share their insights and recommend how to best leverage our newly developed infrastructure,” TDP’s Managing Director, Sakhone Philangam, told the Vientiane Times.
The director referred to the modern infrastructure that has been developed at the dry port, Laos’ first integrated logistics centre located in a suburb of Vientiane.
Hosting the Laos-China Railway and Laos-Thailand Railway, the dry port is the single window customs clearance point for rail transport.
Mr Sakhone said he expects to receive recommendations on “what can be done to improve services and better serve entrepreneurs”.
All sensible recommendations will be compiled and submitted to the parties in-charge for consideration.
The second day (October 11) will feature the Laos Logistics Fair 2024, the first event of its kind that will be held at the dry port. Initiated by the dry port and jointly organised with the Lao International Truckers and Freight Forwarders Association, the fair will showcase logistics service products. It will also serve as a networking platform for regional logistics service providers to leverage competitiveness through Laos’ new infrastructure development (rail links and multimodal connections through dry ports).
With the operation of the dry port, Mr Sakhone hopes to drive Laos to become not only a logistics connector, but also a goods distribution hub.
To achieve this, the director said, not only physical infrastructure is needed, but also consensus from all parties with the promulgation of relevant regulatory legislation.
“Issues in this regard are expected to be debated at the symposium,” Mr Sakhone said.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update October 4, 2024)