Pakse: Champassak Province has hosted the 8th International Cooperation Project Meeting for the Vat Phou Champassak World Heritage Site, bringing together Lao officials, international partners, and heritage experts to assess ongoing restoration and development efforts.

According to Lao News Agency, the meeting, held on 25 November 2025 in Pakse, was attended by Tedavan Kaeopilavan, Head of Champassak’s Department of Culture and Tourism; Phakhansay Sikhansay, Director General of the Heritage Department; Kwanwan Baek, Deputy Director General of the Korean Heritage Administration; along with representatives from provincial offices, international organisations, and technical specialists.

Ms. Tedavan noted that the meeting builds on the 7th coordination meeting held in Vientiane in 2023. Since Vat Phou was inscribed as Laos’ second UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, joint coordination meetings have played an important role in heritage conservation, including restoration of ancient monuments, monitoring of the old town area, and managing development around the site.

International support has come from multiple partners, including Korea, France, India, and other countries providing long-standing grant assistance.

The meeting served as a platform to review progress on key projects, including the Lao-French CHAMPA project focused on archaeological research, Lidar aerial surveys, and socio-economic and tourism-related studies. Additionally, the Lao-Korean and Lao-Indian cooperation efforts focused on monument conservation and restoration of stone structures, respectively.

Participants also received updates on site management and development plans, Champassak Province’s tourism strategy, including development initiatives at Vat Phou, improvements to the Vat Phou Museum with planned expansion and exhibition upgrades, and old town development in Suay Sathit, Nong Vien, and Vat Sang Vai. Surveys of ancient routes for tourism development, such as the Tat Sampang route from Vat Phou to Hong Nang Sida, were also discussed.

The meeting provided an open forum for discussion, allowing participants to share experiences, identify challenges, and propose new approaches to improve project implementation and expand cooperation in the future.