In 2000, there was an escalation of incidents involving bombings and insurgency activities. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombings, which government described as minor incidents, but it is thought they could be related to business disputes or divisions within the military or the government. Meanwhile, with fighters from the Hmong ethnic group recently stepping up their long-running insurgency, Vietnamese military advisers have been supporting the Lao military in keeping this situation under control. Poor rice yields, drought and a lack of crop diversification all pose real threats to food security. There are no railroads, the road system is rudimentary and external and internal telecommunications are very limited.
Electricity is available in only a few urban areas.
As in many developing countries, deforestation and soil erosion will hamper efforts to attain a high rate of GDP growth. VSO is only permitted to work in the government sector to support the government s priorities there are no local NGOs. English-language teaching is the largest sector in the VSO programme. The teacher-training element of the programme has been particularly successful. Where possible, these VSO teachers will be placed in clusters, which will help them to support each other better and will improve the links between the schools, the TTCs and the follow-up advisers.