Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Friday said Malaysia will provide assistance to develop communist Laos through investments and human resource development. Abdullah said Malaysia and Laos, both part of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian (Asean) could work together to attract more investment and trade into the land-locked, impoverished state.
"They are doing well at the moment, 7.3 percent GDP, it is a high growth but they are starting from quite a low base and hence there are a lot of things that needs to be done," he told reporters.
Abdullah earlier held a bilateral meeting with his Laotian counterpart, Bouasone Bouphavanh, who is on a three-day visit to strengthen bilateral relations and co-operation.