Australia and Laos – A shared journey

Australia Day is a day when Australia reflects on who we are, where we’ve come from, and the future we want to build.
We honour our multicultural nation, home to people from more than 300 ancestries. This includes over one million Australians with family ties to Southeast Asia. We acknowledge that our modern nation stands on 65,000 years of continuous First Nations culture - the oldest living culture on Earth.
We also take this time to look toward a shared future and stop to consider our place in our region and the wider world. This includes, of course, our relationships here in Southeast Asia, and especially Australia’s close and longstanding friendship with Laos.

Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the Lao PDR. I extend my warm congratulations to the government and the Lao people on this historic milestone, as well as on the successful Party Congress. These are pivotal moments in the country’s journey - and represent the nation’s growth, resilience, and aspirations.

We are proud to walk alongside Laos in its journey. This year Australia and Laos celebrate 74 consecutive years of diplomatic relations, Laos’ longest unbroken bilateral relationship. That longevity says something profound. It says that our partnership has endured through changing times, global challenges, and shifting priorities—but it has remained strong because it is built on trust, mutual respect, and genuine friendship.
In March 2024, our Prime Ministers elevated this partnership by signing the Australia–Laos Comprehensive Partnership. This agreement recognised formally that our cooperation has become broader, deeper, and more important than ever. I would like to reflect on what this means in practice, and share some examples of the breadth and depth of our partnership.
At the heart of our relationship, of course, are the people who carry it forward. We have built strong personal and professional ties between our nations, through scholarships, volunteers, humanitarian deployments, cultural exchanges, and community partnerships.

For more than 70 years, Lao students have travelled to Australia to study—and returned with new skills, new perspectives, and lifelong friendships. Today, more than 2,600 Australian alumni in Laos are shaping government, business, science, health, and the arts.
Our cooperation in education continues to strengthen learning outcomes, support teachers, and promote gender equality. We are particularly proud of our work to help children build strong foundations in Lao language as they begin school.
In health, our joint efforts to combat dengue fever stand out. In 2025, 48 million Wolbachia carrying mosquitoes were released across Vientiane. We are thrilled that Australian innovation is being deployed here in Laos, and look forward to this programme rolling out to more locations across the country this year.
We congratulate the Lao government on the 5th Population and Housing Census that has recently been conducted. Australia was proud to be a key contributor to this important work that will provide the data to support Laos’ future economic, social and development endeavours.
Australia has strengthened its cooperation with the media sector, supporting activities to mark the 75th Media Day celebration last year and facilitating a digital dialogue co-chaired by ABC and the Lao Journalists Association. We have a number of activities planned to build on this work in 2026.
Australia has reinforced our enduring economic commitment to our region through Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. Laos, with its growing role as a regional connector, presents significant opportunities for economic collaboration. This year, we are focused on expanding partnerships in sustainable infrastructure, non-hydro renewable energy, agri-business, mining and education. These are areas where Australian expertise can support Laos’ development goals while fostering mutual prosperity.
Our business engagement in Laos is growing. Last March, I travelled to Champassak Province for the launch of a new blueberry farm, run by Australian company Costa. At the time they had 17 hectares of blueberry crop and around 80 employees. I visited again in December, with the Minister of Finance, Mr Santiphab Phomvihane, and Costa had grown to 73 hectares, employing over 200 people, most of whom are Lao. They have bold plans to expand further and support Laos’ ambitions to increase agriculture exports.
We are proud to support Laos as we all grapple with the challenges of climate change. This includes supporting Lao engagement in the global carbon market, work on energy regulation, and exploring new opportunities in non-hydro renewables. Through collaborative projects in Laos’ north and south, we have helped local communities to better plan for natural disasters and to pilot climate resilient livelihoods. We are also working with the Mekong River Commission to improve flood mapping. And we are expanding cooperation on climate resilient agriculture with a new programme, the Laos-Australia Agriculture Resilience Initiative, which will begin this year. This programme builds on our 35-plus years of partnership in agricultural research and water management.
Australia remains committed to working with Laos, and ASEAN nations, to shape a peaceful, stable and prosperous region, with ASEAN and ASEAN-led institutions at the centre. We are working with Laos and other ASEAN partners to support a region that is resilient, operating by agreed rules, norms and standards, where all countries can cooperate, trade and thrive, and respect for sovereignty and international law is upheld. As our Foreign Minister has said, ASEAN has a unique voice. By its words and its deeds, it can build norms, and it can set expectations. For powers great and small.
Our defence cooperation with Laos works to support a resilient and stable region through dialogue and practical engagement. Senior Official Talks were held in December last year, and we are expanding opportunities for defence officers from our two countries to learn from each other. This includes through English language training courses and engagement such as the Indo-Pacific Endeavour. Last year, we were pleased to bring 20 Lao officers to Australia under these activities.
Lao and Australian law enforcement agencies are jointly combatting and disrupting transnational organised crime. We are working together to strengthen our joint capabilities to address issues such as drug trafficking and financial and technology-enabled crime. The Australian Border Force is working in close partnership with Lao counterparts to strengthen border management, helping Laos to facilitate trade and travel while also combatting criminal activities. We are also deepening our engagement with Laos on cyber security, and have partnered with multiple Lao agencies to support broad capacity building on cyber security awareness and resilience.
Alongside all these connections, we have been pleased to continue our strong cooperation with the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party over the last year. We supported the Central Committee for Organisation and Personnel modernise HR systems, enhance efficiency and accountability in the civil service, and drive digital transformation, including through a study tour to Australia.
I also want to acknowledge the important role played by the Australia-Laos Friendship Association and its members in building these connections between Australia and the Party.
A number of Friendship Association members travelled to Australia last year to further strengthen these bonds. 
In the leadup to Australia Day I reflected on my last two years and how the relationship has developed in that time. I have been honoured to work on such a genuine partnership that is anchored in friendship and trust. This partnership is not simply a product of policy. It is built by people, who choose every day to work together with trust and goodwill.
Next year marks the 75th anniversary of Australia–Laos relations. It will be a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come, and to look forward with optimism to all that we can achieve together. I invite you to celebrate not just Australia Day, but the shared journey of our two nations.
--Megan Jones, Australian Ambassador to the Lao PDR

(Latest Update February 5, 2026)