Australia signs air service deal with Laos

Tourism, business and trade between Australia and Laos is expected to strengthen after the federal government signed a new agreement with the southeast Asian country.

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss signed the bilateral air services agreement with his Laotian counterpart on Saturday, saying it would remove all restrictions on the carriage of freight between the two countries.

It also opens up commercial airline services between the nations, with passenger traffic between Australia and Laos having grown 12 per cent each year since 2004.