Indeed, I mean Obama. He is going to visit Vientiane next week for the 11th ASEAN Summit. As the first American President EVER. The summit is usually big enough by itself but with the additional, immense security effort concerning Mr.Obama, Vientiane’s main roads will all be locked down for a week and even schools will be closed. This will be interesting…

Anyway, this circumstance made me deal with the Republic’s politics sooner than I had expected. In fact, I just found two short articles in the Laotian Times that I consider worth sharing. Read here if you want to know why America is interested in strengthening the bond to this small nation:

1. http://www.laotiantimes.com/2016/09/02/recharging-asias-battery-what-obama-should-do-in-laos/
2. http://www.laotiantimes.com/2016/09/03/tiny-laos-gets-a-rare-moment-in-the-sun/