Programs and Events 2007

Dr. Robert Seiple, Former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Visits Laos

Dr. Seiple addresses students at the Foreign Affairs Institute

Dr. Robert Seiple, former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, visited Laos from January 14 to 19. Dr. Seiple is currently chair of the Institute for Global Engagement, which he co-founded with his wife, who joined him on the visit. In an address at the Foreign Affairs Institute on January 16, Dr. Seiple expressed support for steps that Laos has already taken to protect religious freedom. However, he noted that protection of religious freedoms has not always been implemented correctly in rural areas. Dr. Seiple said that, in America and elsewhere, religious freedom protects the rights of minorities as well as majorities. He described his ties to Laos, which he has visited many times, as “the highlight of my life.”

During his visit, Dr. Seiple also met with Dr. Saysomephone Phomvihane, Deputy President of the National Assembly, and with a number of political and religious leaders at the national, provincial, and local levels in Vientiane and in Bolikhamxay and Savannakhet provinces. [more source from Pathet Lao Newspaper]|Jan. 14-19, 2007|