Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997 and the WTO in 2013.GeographyPeopleGovernmentEconomyEnergyCommunicationsTransportationMilitaryTransnational Issues Geography Landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with ThailandLocation: Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of VietnamGeographic coordinates: 18 0