The secretive ruling Communist Party of Laos opened its five-yearly congress on Monday, a rare and significant event which decides who runs the country and sets its economic priorities.
The communists have ruled the impoverished Southeast Asian nation since 1975 at the end of the Vietnam war, which spilled into Laos and saw the country blanketed by bombs in a secret war led by the CIA.
State media said 684 delegates – representing more than 200,000 party members – will attend the five day meeting in the capital Vientiane.
The congress will select the members of the influential Politburo and Central Committee, the key decision-making bodies governing the landlocked but resource-rich country.
It comes as Laos assumes the year-long chairmanship of the ASEAN regional bloc that will see a cascade of diplomatic meetings and open the cloistered, tightly-controlled nation to greater scrutiny.
Launching the congress, Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, lauded Laos’ decade-long boom which has seen an average annual growth rate of 7.4 per cent.