The fourth United Kingdom (UK) – Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) biennial Political Dialogue took place in London on 3 September 2025. The meeting was co-chaired by UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Indo-Pacific, Catherine West MP, and Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Maythong Thammavongsa, and coincided with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
UK Ambassador to Lao PDR H.E Mel Barlow and Lao Ambassador to the UK H.E Douangmany Gnotsyoudom also participated in the discussions.
The two Ministers discussed a range of bilateral issues including trade and investment, regional security and climate. During the meeting, Minister West raised key consular issues, including methanol poisoning and recent methanol poisoning cases.
The Dialogue also included exchanges on regional and international matters of mutual concern. The Deputy Foreign Minister welcomed the UK’s continued engagement in the Mekong sub-region, including its recent accession as a Development Partner to the Mekong River Commission in June 2025.
In a separate meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Maythong Thammavongsa met with Matt Western MP, the UK’s newly appointed Trade Envoy to Lao PDR. They discussed opportunities to deepen trade and investment cooperation as Lao PDR prepares to graduate from Least Developed Country status in 2026.
The United Kingdom looks forward to continued collaboration with Lao PDR across a broad range of shared priorities including growing people-to-people links, which will be supported by the newly established UK-Lao Friendship Society.
