Thailand/Laos: Commentary - New cross-border bridge requires bilateral cooperation to be beneficial.

(From Thai Press Reports)

Section: Commentary - The Nation - Cross-border transport problems suggest mental blocks are harder to overcome than physical barriers.

The second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, which connects Mukdahan province with Laos's Savannakhet province, was opened for traffic in January amid high hopes that it would promote regional trade, boost tourism and encourage economic and social integration of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) in a significant way. Instead, it did all this in a decidedly non-dramatic fashion, just like the first Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge did, and continues to do, since it was inaugurated in 1994 to link …