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On 2nd March 2016, ECCIL hosted a breakfast meeting in honour of the visit of Lord David Puttnam, UK Special Trade Envoy for Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam accompanied by British Ambassador D. Hugh Evans.

Participants enjoyed a lively discussion on wide ranging topics, many of which dealt with the advocacy need for senior business managers to liaise closely with members of the Lao government to ensure the climate for foreign business to enter and work in the country continues to improve.

Of special interest was the firmly stated view of Lord Puttnam that the years of large ODI as well as direct foreign government and NGO grants are coming to an end as other destinations are going to become better supported in the future. He expected that this would require the Lao government to adopt a different approach to infrastructure and other developemnts.