Chief Executive Development Officer and Senior Vice President of Greater Seattle Partners, Josh Davis, on Wednesday briefs Asean journalists at his office in Seattle, Washington State, USA.
SEATTLE, (US): More frequent reciprocal visits between delegations from Laos and Washington State can play a key role in fostering two-way trade and other business links.
This was the message from the Chief Executive Development Officer and Senior Vice President of Greater Seattle Partners, Josh Davis, during a discussion with visiting Asean journalists on Wednesday (Oct 30).
He said “The most important element in boosting bilateral trade values between Laos and Seattle is to increase people-to-people exchanges so you can get new information to share with your networks.”
Davis stressed that productive business relationships are based on strong people-to-people contacts.
“This is something we can do in a small way to bolster connectivity. We open our arms to the world, and major countries like India opened a consulate in Seattle recently,” he said.
According to figures on commodities exported to Asean by Greater Seattle, Singapore has taken the lead in three consecutive years with a record of over US$1.4 billion in 2023 alone.
In contrast, the registered value of trade with Laos was the lowest among the 10 Asean countries at just over US$1 million in 2021, down from US$645,260 in 2022 and a slight increase of US$834,715 in 2023.
Asean exports to the Greater Seattle region were recorded at US$12.2 billion in 2023, down from more than US$13 billion in 2022, in which Vietnam took the lead with over US$6.6 billion in 2023, while exports from Laos to Greater Seattle gradually decreased from over US$9.7 million in 2021 to just over US$1.3 million in 2023.
At the same time, the total value of trade from Asean to the Greater Seattle region was recorded at over US$16.4 billion in 2023, down from over US$18.7 billion in 2022.
The total registered value of trade between Laos and Greater Seattle was recorded at US$2.1 million in 2023, a significant decrease from the figure of US$10.9 million recorded in 2021.
Commodities exported to Asean by Greater Seattle were mainly aircraft, spacecraft, electrical machinery, and other products.
Meanwhile, the main products exported by Asean to Greater Seattle were electrical machinery, garments, footwear, and furnished goods.
Laos and the United States established full diplomatic relations in 1955 and will mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties followed by programmes in 2026 to mark the 10th anniversary of their Comprehensive Partnership – the legacy agreed by former Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit and former US President Barack Obama during Laos’ chairing of Asean in 2016.
As a result of the signed comprehensive partnership and other cooperation frameworks, economic cooperation between Laos and the United States continues to strengthen.
In 2023, the value of the two-way trade in goods between Laos and the US was registered at US$352 million in 2023, a sixfold increase over the past decade, up from US$54.9 million in 2013. - Vientiane Times/ANN
