U.S. Ambassador to the Lao PDR Heather Variava

(KPL) Newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to the Lao PDR Heather Variava has pledged to continue building and expanding the Lao-US comprehensive partnership established by former President Bounhang Vorachit and his US counterpart Barak Obama during the latter’s visit to the Lao PDR in 2016.

 “When I think about the building and expanding Lao-US comprehensive partnership, I think of it in two ways in particular, first I see that one of the most important ways is that the United States can partner with the Lao PDR by helping Laos to build the capacity of the people of the Lao PDR to make Laos a more prosperous, stable, independent sovereign nation within southeast Asia. Secondly, and related to that is that the US very focuses on working with Laos and partnering with Laos as to become a regional and global leader, so for example, of course that means this year, supporting Laos, its role as the chair of ASEAN,” said the US ambassador .

In an interview to local media in Vientiane on Tuesday, Ambassador Heather Variava said that the United States very much supports Laos’ aspiration to be an active and important member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“We are delighted to support Laos,  particularly this year, as it takes on the chair role again because we believe that it's  better for the United States, better for Laos and for the world when Laos has active, important role in Southeast Asia and beyond so we very much support Laos’ ASEAN theme of connectivity and resilience and we are looking forward to supporting Laos this year in particular and beyond,” said Ambassador.

Being appointed as the US ambassador to the Lao PDR for the next three years will allow Heather Variava to witness important milestones including the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Laos-US diplomatic relations next year and the 10th anniversary of Laos-US comprehensive partnership in 2026.

Since its announcement in 2016, the Lao-US Comprehensive Partnership has significantly contributed to strengthening the cooperation between the two countries in a number of areas such as humanitarian cooperation, trade and economics, education, health and nutrition.

Heather Variava was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to the Lao People's Democratic Republic on January 19, 2024. Previously, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines.  She also served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Mission to Indonesia, and as U.S. Consul General in Surabaya, Indonesia.

KPL