Lao-Australia relations and cooperation

2022 marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Lao PDR and Australia. 

The Embassy of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, and the ANU Southeast Asia Institute warmly invite you to celebrate this occasion with our guest 

HIS EXCELLENCY SALEUMXAY KOMMASITH
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR

who will deliver a speech on Lao-Australian relations and cooperation, and the Lao PDR's role as the ASEAN-Australia Country Coordinator in 2021-2024. 

This is an in-person only event. Registration is essential. 
A limited amount of souvenirs will also be available so don't miss out! Come and join us! 


H.E. Saleumxay Kommasith
Deputy Prime Minister Kommasith gained his MA for International Relations at the Moscow State University of International Relations in Moscow, Russia from 1986 to 1992. He continued his education at Monash University, Australia for another MA in International Study and Development from 1996 to 1997. In addition to Lao, he also speaks Russian, French and English.

Throughout his years in government, he has an extensive list of appointments including Director General of the Department of International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2007-11), Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs (2011-12), Permanent Representative of Laos to the United Nations (2012-13), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs (2014-16), and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016. In March 2021, he was re-elected as Minister of Foreign Affairs for second term by the 9th National Assembly of the Lao PDR.

Host: Professor Evelyn Goh
Evelyn Goh FBA is the Shedden Professor of Strategic Policy Studies, and Interim Head of the ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. She is also Director of the ANU Southeast Asia Institute. Goh's scholarship focuses on East Asian security and international relations, and she is a leading authority on Southeast Asian security strategies.

Moderator: Associate Professor Keith Barney
Associate Professor Keith Barney is Head of Department in the Resources Environment & Development (RE&D) Group at the Crawford School of Public Policy at ANU. Since 2003, Keith's primary focus for fieldwork and research has been in the endlessly fascinating country of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Laos also offers a particular geographical window for studying broader regional and global processes of political-economic and environmental transformation.