Bangkok  - The first railway link across the Mekong River connecting Thailand with Laos was officially opened Thursday in a ceremony presided over by Thailand's Princess Sirindhorn.

The line allows travel by train from Bangkok to a station inside Laos for the first time, although the train currently stops a few kilometers short of the Laos capital of Vientiane.

Bangkok - Parliamentarians from 22 Asian countries gathered in Vientiane, Laos, on Monday to attend the 17th annual Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), a get-together founded by former Japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, media reports said.

"The Asia-Pacific region has more than half the world's population and is rich in natural resources," said Thongsing Thammavong, chairman of the Lao National Assembly and the chair of the forum.

"This rich region can help overcome the world's economic problems," said Thongsing in his opening remarks, as reported by Radio Laos in a broadcast monitored in Bangkok.

Bangkok  - Laos has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean firm Boon Young to conduct a feasibility study on their construction of a new international airport for the capital Vienti

Bangkok - Kuwait expressed interest in investing in Laos' energy and agriculture sectors as part of the oil-rich country's push to find new investment opportunities in Asia, a Lao foreign ministry official said Wednesday.

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah, who is on a regional tour of Asia, met with his Lao counterpart Bouasone Bouphavanh on Tuesday.

Bangkok - Kuwaiti Prime Minister Nasir Muhammad is to visit communist Laos next week to commemorate the recent establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Lao Foreign Affairs Ministry officials said Friday.

Nasir was scheduled to visit the capital, Vientiane, Tuesday and Wednesday, weeks after the two countries established diplomatic relations on July 14.

"When he is in Laos, we will sign five documents, including agreements on protection of foreign investments and avoidance of double taxation," said Yong Chanthalangsy, Lao Foreign Ministry spokesman.

Nasir was scheduled to meet with Lao President Choummali Saignason and Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh.

Bangkok - Laos, a land-locked nation with no known petroleum resources, faces a serious threat from rising oil prices this year, the country's president warned Monday.