Background

A non-profit organization (“Organisation”) headquartered in the United States provides healthcare training in multiple countries and is now considering conducting similar activities in Laos.

Questions from the Organisation

1. What is the permitted and appropriate mode of operation for a foreign non-profit organisation to conduct healthcare training activities in Laos?
2. Is it necessary for the Organisation to have a local partner in order to carry out the proposed activities?
3. If establishing a legal entity in Laos is required, what is the process involved?

Mode of Operation

Operations of foreign non-profit organisations in Laos remain a sensitive area. As such, the only viable option for these organizations to conduct activities in Laos is by establishing an international non-governmental organisation (“INGO”) in partnership with the relevant ministry of the Lao PDR government.

Local Partner

As noted above, a foreign non-profit organisation is required to partner with a relevant Lao ministry to conduct its activities. In the case of healthcare training, the Organisation must partner with the Ministry of Health (“MOH”).

Establishment Process

To operate in Laos, a foreign non-profit organisation must enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with its local partner. In this instance, the Organisation prepared, negotiated, and signed an MOU with the MOH.

Further steps required to complete the registration process are outlined in detail here. Broadly, the process includes, among other things, obtaining the following documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ("MOFA"):

• Operation Permit
• Project Approval
• Project Office Approval

The Organisation followed these steps, and the INGO was successfully registered and became operational in Laos.