In accordance with Prime Ministerial Decree 32/PM of 2000, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the state management organisation responsible for the implementation of the foreign policy of the Lao PDR. Its duties include: (i) studying and realising party and government policies on political and economic relations with foreign countries and functioning as the centre for co-ordination and implementation of those policies; (ii) co-ordinating with the Commission for External Relations of the Party Central Committee concerning foreign affairs activities executed by the party and mass organisations; (iii) studying and drafting laws on foreign affairs of the Lao PDR and determining rules and regulations for the management of activities relating to them; (iv) making official statements concerning the opinion of the Lao PDR regarding significant events occurring both inside and outside the country, co-ordinating with other concerned sectors in the supervision of foreign information and mass media offices operating within the Lao PDR; (v) making synopses of the world situation and the situations of each country as well as of international and regional organisations and regularly evaluating activities on the foreign affairs of the country; (vi) studying and submitting to the government proposals on the establishment of diplomatic relations with various countries, international and regional organisations, and on the establishment of embassies, representative offices and consulates of the Lao PDR in foreign countries, and granting permission for the establishment of embassies, representative offices and consulates of foreign countries within the Lao PDR; (vii) studying and submitting proposals to the government concerning the appointment of ambassadors, heads of representative offices and consul generals of the Lao PDR to be stationed abroad, at the same time studying and submitting proposals concerning agreements for the ambassadors, heads of representative offces and consul generals of foreign countries and international and regional organisations accredited by the Lao PDR; (viii) co-ordinating with other concerned sectors in preparatory work for party or government delegations visiting abroad, undertaking missions or attending international conferences, and in addition preparing and organising receptions for party and state delegations paying visits to, or executing their missions within, the Lao PDR; (ix) studying and advising the governmernt and managing the implementation of state procedures concerning protocol; (x) undertaking preparations for negotiations and the signing of treaties, protocols and different international conventions, supervising and giving support in their implementation, and centralising the management of the original copies of those treaties, protocols and international conventions signed by the Lao PDR; (xi) taking responsibility for negotiations and legal settlements on border problems between the Lao PDR and its neighbouring countries, and co-ordinating with other agencies to protect the borders of the Lao PDR; (xii) centralising the management of diplomatic, official and normal passports, co-ordinating with other concerned agencies in the provision of consular services and protecting the rights and benefits of Lao citizens residing in foreign countries; (xiii) guiding, managing and monitoring directly all functions of the units within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the embassies of the representative offices and the consulates of the Lao PDR in foreign countries; (xiv) facilitating the functioning of embassies, representative offices and consulates of foreign countries and supervising non-government organisations operating within the Lao PDR; (xv) drawing up both long term and short term plans for the development, management and policy implementation of the Ministry's responsibilities and contributing to the training of officials who are engaged in foreign affairs matters, both at local and central levels; and (xvi) generating and managing budgets for activities of the Ministry and for ASEAN activities of the Lao PDR, in accordance with procedures and regulations and also ensuring the proper maintenance of Ministry property, both within and outside the country. The Ministry comprises the following offices and departments: