Japan announced Sunday it will provide Laos with an aid package worth ¥10.46 billion to help the Southeast Asian country build infrastructure.

"I hope that our aid will contribute greatly to Laos' economic development," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a joint press conference with Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong after their talks at Abe's office.

While Southeast Asia is recognized as a center of growth, financial disparities in the region remain between the more developed states such as Singapore and less developed ones including Laos.