The signing of a co-operative convention between the Ministry of Information and Culture and the École Française d'extrême-orient in 1993 facilitated the creation in Vientiane of a Franco-Lao Buddhist studies institute. Opened in that same year, the main function of the centre is to undertake research into the Buddhist texts (manuscripts, inscriptions) which represent the religious traditions of Laos, through the Fonds d'édition des manuscrits Lao (FEML) project, set up by former representative François Bizot. Apart from this primary emphasis, EFEO Vientiane also undertakes research into Lao ethnology, history, art history and archaeology. The aim of the research in Lao religious literature is to deepen and re-actualise the research undertaken by Louis Finot in 1917, to show the richness and originality of the written religious tradition in Laos and help define the importance of the role of Lao Buddhism in the general history of Buddhism in South East Asia. The project utilises the inventory of palm leaf manuscripts developed as part of the National Library's Preservation of Lao Manuscripts Programme (PLMP). After thorough analysis and classification, it is planned to publish some of the texts. Recent achievements of EFEO Laos include research and publication of Saddavimala (purity through words), the first volume of the Lao Buddhist texts collection started by François Bizot in 1993 under the Fonds d'édition des manuscrits Lao (FEML) project, plus two republished works - one a revised, bilingual edition of Georges Condominas’ Le Bouddhisme au village (Buddhism in the Village), published with assistance from the French Embassy, and the other Maha Sila Viravongs’ Grammaire Palie (Pali Grammar). The centre also publishes acts of the 1996 international seminar on the preservation and restoration of Lao heritage. Another project of EFEO Laos is the systematic inventory and publishing of the inscriptions on stelae of the kingdom of Lane Xang. These valuable inscriptions have not yet been exploited as materials for the knowledge of the history of ancient Laos and that of Buddhism in South East Asia. Another inventory currently being developed is that of Mon vestiges in Laos. Some vestiges found in Vientiane during the 1960s should help to better identify the religious traditions which spread over a vast part of South East Asia during the first millennium.