A chimp motions for Santa to deliver his gift during Lion Country Safari's annual Christmas with the Chimps on Thursday, December 20, 2012. (Photo by Bruce R. Bennett/The Palm Beach Post)

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be around 6.5 million in 2012. A third (33%) of the country's population lives below the international poverty line which means living on less than U.S. $1.25 per day.

Soldiers pose for a photo during the flower exhibition marking the 105th birth anniversary of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, North Korea April 16, 2017. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Migrant children play with leaves during Christmas Eve at a shelter, as they travel with their parents as part of a caravan with humanitarian visas to transit throughout the country, in Monterrey, Mexico on December 24, 2021. (Photo by Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

Snow and ice adorn trees in Ovacık district, Turkey on February 20, 2020. The country has been experiencing heavy snowfall this month. (Photo by Sidar Can Eren/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A dog wearing face mask is seen on a street as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Shanghai, China on March 2, 2020. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

Relatives of the Afghan Army soldiers, who are trapped in Obde district of Herat while fighting against Taliban militants, protest to demand the government evacuate the injured soldiers, in Herat, Afghanistan, 17 June 2021. Afghan authorities said they are in the process to arrange the evacuation of Army soldiers from the restive district soon. There has been a particularly bloody spike in violence in the country in recent weeks, following the start of the withdrawal of US troops from the country, a process due to be complete by September 11. (Photo by Jalil Rezayee/EPA/EFE)

Myanmar T-72 battle tank competes in an individual race of the Tank Biathlon competition as part of the 7th International Army Games 2021 at the Alabino training ground, Moscow region, Russia, 27 August 2021. The 7th International Military-Technical Forum “Army-2021” is held from 22 August till 04 September 2021 at 23 military training grounds of 11 countries. Five thousand participants of 277 teams from 42 countries compete in 34 military contests. (Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA/EFE)