On May 30, 2024, Mr. Zhang Tianyi, Director of Tahota Vientiane Office, and his team were invited to pay a visit to the Mr. CHALEUAN YAPAOHER, Vice President of the National Assembly of the Lao PDR in Vientiane, the capital city of Lao PDR. 

During the visit, Mr. Zhang Tianyi recalled the development course of Tahota Vientiane Office, the first Chinese-funded law firm founded in Lao PDR in March 2016, and reported to Mr. CHALEUAN YAPAOHER the fruits of its legal services and efforts for Chinese-funded enterprises and projects in Lao PDR, including safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in Lao PDR, actively participating in the hearings of legislation on foreign investment, advising on the resolution mechanism improvement, and assisting and promoting exchanges of China-Lao legal professions, disseminating China's experiences in law system construction, and displaying the international image of Chinese lawyers.

Mr. CHALEUAN YAPAOHER jollily looked back his experiences in judicial exchanges and cooperation between Lao PDR and China during his tenure as the Minister of Ministry of Justice and Minister of the Prime Minister's Office of Lao PDR, etc. and expressed his appreciation for the efforts made by the Chinese government in recent years to constantly optimize law environment and make more efforts for global rule of law.

Mr. CHALEUAN YAPAOHER congratulated the significant achievements and contributions of Tahota as an outstanding representative of Chinese law firms in internationalization in such major projects as Asia-Pacific Satellite, Laos-China Railway, Vientiane -Vang Vieng Expressway and the National Power Grid, and expressed his gratitude for Tahota’s efforts to assist the Ministry of Justice and Lawyer Association of Lao PDR in participating in international lawyer exchange events, for example, Global Lawyers Forum and the establishment of the Belt and Road International Lawyers Association held in Guangzhou in December 2019. He encouraged Tahota to continuously build up its professional team, participate in more major projects in Lao PDR and neighboring countries, serve better legal and cultural exchanges, and contribute more to the building of a community with a shared future between China and Lao PDR.

Also, Mr. CHALEUAN YAPAOHER introduced the legislative planning of the National Assembly of the Lao PDR on foreign investment and the safeguarding of foreign investment and major projects, and welcomed Tahota to actively participate in the legislative hearings, and contribute more to the amendment of the Constitution of Lao PDR and the Law on Promotion of Investment with China’s wisdom and experiences. We look forward to more similar exchanges in the future to promote mutual trust and deepen legal cooperation between China and Lao PDR.

Dr. Viengphet, Vice President of the National Institute of Justice, the Ministry of Justice of Lao PDR, joined the visit.

Background: The National Assembly of the Lao PDR, the highest authority and legislative body in Lao PDR, is engaged in establishing the Constitution and laws and has a term of five years. The National Assembly of the Lao PDR currently consists of the Justice Committee, the Planning, Finance and Audit Committee, the Cultural and Social Committee, the Ethnic Affairs Committee, the National Defence and Security Committee, and the Foreign Affairs Committee.