A Lao delegation led by Minister to the Prime Minister's Office Soubanh Sritthirath highlighted the Lao government's vision of democracy at the 13th Francophonie Summit held recently in Montreux, Switzerland.

Mr Soubanh, who is a special envoy of the Lao president, talked about political issues at the event, including democracy and multi-party ruling systems as identified in the Bamako Declaration.

The issue was tabled at the summit which representatives from 70 member countries and observers of the Francophonie organisation attended.

Mr Soubanh stated that democracy and a multi-party ruling regime are two different concepts that cannot be merged, according to a press release from the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Democracy is a destination, while a multi-party ruling regime is merely a mode of transport towards that destination, Mr Soubanh told participants.

However, the method for arriving at democracy must be agreed upon by the people of a nation in line with the particular historical, cultural and socio-economic characteristics of that country, he said.

He informed the summit about the direction Laos is focusing on as it develops.

“The Lao PDR has endeavoured to integrate with Asean and open its doors to external cooperation with the aim of developing and constructing our nation,” he told participants.

In order to achieve ambitions, it is critical to strengthen governance and legislative and judicial organisations, which are the solid pillars for being a state governed by the rule of law, Mr Soubanh said.

All of this is aimed at ensuring all power belongs to the Lao people, by the people and for the benefit of the people, the minister stated.

The Lao government's endeavours to pursue such ambitions, he added, has enabled Laos to become the first country among Asean member states to achieve economic growth of 8 percent in 2010.

In addition, Laos and Sweden (the EU representative) hold an annual meeting to monitor the implementation of various legal documents on human rights in Laos, which Laos has ratified.

At the summit, the Lao delegation shared their views on various issues including global warming and climate change, the role of the French language in the international arena, and sustainable development.

The summit also adopted five countries as new observers of the Francophonie Organisation - Bosnia-Herzegovina, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Montenegro and the Dominican Republic.

The summit elected Mr Abdou Diouf as secretary of the organisation for the third time and adopted Congo to host the next summit.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update November 04, 2010)