- Laos may attain an economic growth rate of 7 percent this year due to the development of tourism, increased exports and mining, said an official from the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts while addressing a regional conference held in Vientiane on Monday.

The official told the first ASEAN Conference on Encouraging the Private Sector to Become Involved in Mining that last year, Laos posted an overall growth rate of 6.5 percent and a 11.4-percent increase in industrial output.

Its poverty rate dropped from 39 percent in 2002 to 32 percent in 2003.

The official stressed his government's policy of encouraging domestic and foreign investment, saying the country has issued the Mineral Ore Law and the Law on Investment Encouragement and Management in a bid to boost investment in these areas, reduce poverty in rural areas, and create more employment.

(VNA)