AI regulation in Laos (2026)

On 27 January 2026, the Lao government officially unveiled the UNESCO RAM Country Report and confirmed it underpins the drafting of a first National AI Strategy, targeting human-centred and inclusive AI development aligned with international frameworks.

Laos completed UNESCO's AI Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) in 2025, becoming one of 77 countries globally and 8 in South-East Asia to use this macro-level diagnostic across regulation, institutions, infrastructure, human capacity, and societal impact.

As of mid-2026, Laos has enacted no comprehensive AI legislation, sector-specific AI regulation, or formal AI principles with legal effect, placing it alongside Cambodia and Myanmar as ASEAN members still without an adopted national AI policy.

AI-adjacent governance is channelled through the National Digital Economy Development Strategy 2021–2030 and the 20-Year National Digital Economy Vision (2021–2040); a Decree on Digital Transformation was also under preparation as of 2025.

Laos is preparing to accede to the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which carries AI-related digital-trade provisions; a 2025 ERIA-MOIC workshop advanced Laos's preparedness on AI and digital trade under that framework.

The UN Country Team in Laos has run capacity-building programmes for government officials on AI governance, supporting the Ministry of Technology and Communications as it builds regulatory and institutional tools aligned with UNESCO ethics standards.