Mekong river separating Laos and Thailand

The Joint Border Commission of Laos and Thailand has agreed in a meeting recently held in Luang Prabang to resolve their remaining differences and complete the demarcation of their land border by the end of 2008.

The meeting, chaired by the two nations' foreign ministers, also agreed to finish aerial mapping of their river border by next year, and complete demarcation by 2010.

Talks between the two countries on border demarcation had stalled for the past five years. The two neighbors had agreed to complete demarcation of their borders by 2000. So far they have finished demarking 676 km or 92% of their common land borders. With only 59 km to work on, officials on both sides are optimistic they will be able to complete the process by the end of next year.

Listen to our Laos Today report for more details.