Laos is a single party socialist republic The capital city is Vientiane Other large cities include Luang Prabang Savannakhet and Pakse The official language is Lao Most people are Lao with a significant proportion of indigenous religion as well It is a rising power in electricity to neighboring countries such as Thailand China and Vietnam and the economy is accelerating rapidly with the demands of its metals 7 7 It is a member of the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement APTA Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN East Asia Summit and La Francophonie Laos applied for membership of the World Trade Organization WTO in 1997