Arthur D. Little Japan, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Managing Director: Yusuke Harada, hereinafter referred to as "ADL") and Arthur D. Little Ltd. (Thailand) have started to support the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) government and Japanese companies through AOTS (The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships) and AMEICC (AEM-METI Economic and Industrial Cooperation Committee) to strengthen economic relations between Japan and Lao PDR, to achieve deeper cooperation between Japan and the Mekong region, and to enhance industrial competitiveness in Lao PDR by attracting more Japanese companies to Lao PDR.

The five countries in the Mekong River basin, including Lao PDR, are home to many Japanese companies, mainly in the manufacturing industry, and are expected to continue to be promising investment destinations for Japanese companies as manufacturing bases and markets. Since Lao PDR is a landlocked country and is adjacent to all other Mekong River basin countries, the Japanese government has been working to strengthen economic relations with Lao PDR in cooperation with multilateral cooperation, including infrastructure development at the Mekong region level.

Lao PDR is scheduled to assume the chair of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2024, and the Lao PDR government requested AMEICC to cooperate in formulating a strategy to develop industries that can make the most of Lao PDR's comparative advantages.

Based on the above opportunities, AMEICC aims to achieve the strengthening of economic relations between Japan and Lao PDR and the deepening of cooperation between Japan and the Mekong region by attracting more Japanese companies to Lao PDR and thereby expanding Japanese business involvement in the Mekong region. Furthermore, in close cooperation with related organizations, based on research and analysis of Lao PDR characteristics and business environment, including its comparative advantages, the project will select companies that the country should focus on attracting and make policy proposals necessary to attract such companies.

ADL, in cooperation with AOTS and AMEICC, will support the following activities to further attract Japanese companies to Lao PDR and to formulate policy recommendations necessary to attract Japanese companies to Lao PDR
-     Market research including comparisons with neighboring countries to analyze the advantages of Lao PDR
-     Identification of promising industries that are expected to have particularly high potential for attracting Japanese companies to Lao PDR
-     Identification of issues that need to be resolved in order to attract companies
-     Formulation of investment and business environment improvement plans through interviews with companies, etc.
-     Development of an action plan and roadmap for attracting Japanese companies to Lao PDR
-     Proposal and discussion of the results of the above studies with Lao PDR government officials