Germany, Laos: United in Diversity – 2025 United in World Heritage

On our National Day we celebrate 35 years after German re-unification

The purpose of UNESCO World Heritage listings is to identify, protect and preserve cultural and natural heritage sites of outstanding universal value to humanity. They are considered as irreplaceable sources of life, inspiration and legacy which we should pass on to future generations.
In 2025, both Laos and Germany have achieved new World Heritage listings. While our German input, Neuschwanstein Castle, was honoured for it’s 19th century European architectural grandeur, Hin Nam No National Park in Bualapha district, Khammuan province, was chosen as the oldest intact karst landscape in the world. This unique area harbors a treasure of biodiversity, natural beauty and stunning cave systems. It is outstanding proof of the beauty

This map indicates the new one- and two-way traffic system that will soon come into effect.

of our host country, Laos.
At the same time, Germany has played a key role in supporting the process of nominating Laos’ Hin Nam No National Park as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, demonstrating the close cooperation between our two countries for more than 10 years. At the central level, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has been at the forefront of coordinating the preparation of the UNESCO World Heritage nomination document, with the good cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, which has facilitated the provision of information for the nomination document. At the local level, in particular, Governor of Khammuan Province, Mr Vanxay Phongsavanh and his team have been actively involved in guiding and managing the Hin Nam No National Park to preserve its richness. In addition, the unique cross-border location of Laos’ Hin Nam No National Park, which is connected and harmonious with the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, a World Heritage Site in Vietnam, has enhanced the protection of the entire biodiversity of the region.
Laos and Germany enjoy a long-standing friendship and a history of partnership, which is rooted in the broad areas of cooperation with both German States before the re-unification of Germany, which happened on October 3rd, 1990, exactly 35 years ago this year. There are still a lot of good friends in Laos, who studied in East Germany many years ago, and there are many Lao people, who appreciate the outcomes of 35 years of cooperation with united Germany after 1990.
Our bilateral economic cooperation focuses on fighting the effects of Climate Change, the sustainable transformation of agriculture and forestry, the improvement of the livelihoods of people and on strengthening vocational training initiatives. In doing so, we also aim at a stronger involvement of members of the civil society in political processes, women in particular, and we encourage aligning Lao national regulations with ASEAN standards. The volume of our bilateral cooperation only between 2010 and today is reaching € 200 Mio, and the impact of our projects is often amplified by the contributions of our EU (Team Europe) and other like-minded friends.
In addition, we implement a number of transboundary projects in which Laos is also participating.
We are doing this, because we see the world as one. We are standing by our commitments, given for example in the United Nations context many times, to strive for a more equitable world which offers better opportunities to as many people as possible, wherever they live. We are also doing this in our own national interest: only if all of us fight the effects of climate change together today, we will be able to hand over a world worth living in to future generations. By engaging internationally, Germany also acknowledges that, as a highly industrialised country, we carry a larger part of the responsibility for the effects for example of man-made climate change than many other countries.
Of course, Laos’ and Germany’s political systems are very different. Nonetheless, we share a substantial number of interests which we are striving for together internationally. First and foremost, it is our common goal to strengthen the rules-based international order with the United Nations System at the core. This system makes sure that also small states are heard and valued, not just the big ones and the bullies. Let us use all instruments we have to push back on the increasing number of threats to the international order. Let’s do that together, as two proud nations on an equal footing.
Germany is looking forward to developing the friendship between our two peoples further for both our countries’ mutual benefit.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update November 20, 2025)