Lao PDR

UNDP Resident Representative, Mr Minh Pham and Vice Minister of Planning and Investment, Dr Bounthavy Sisouphanthong at the signing ceremony

The Government of Lao PDR and UNDP agreed to further strengthen their cooperation and reaffirm their commitment to achieving national development goals by signing a new programme titled, ‘Realizing the MDGs in Lao PDR - Consolidated Programme of Support to Ministry of Planning and Investment for the Achievement of the Valuable Goals of the 7th NSEDP 2011-2015'.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) hosted the signing ceremony, with representatives from UNDP, government ministries and development partners, including civil society organizations, witnessing the official endorsement of the programme.

The new programme focuses on four key areas to ensure more efficient and results based support in achieving development goals through equitable and sustainable growth. These include:

1. Strengthening capacity of national planning institutions for inclusive and sustainable development
2. Enhancing monitoring and evaluation systems of the 7th NSEDP using LaoInfo database
3. Improving aid effectiveness and coordination for increased development results through the Round Table Process
4. Strengthening evidenced based planning, monitoring and evaluation through policy-informing research on Human Development

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Bounthavy Sisouphanthong, Vice Minister of Planning and Investment said, “The new programme builds upon earlier capacity building support by UNDP, thus we are now consolidating what used to be four individual UNDP funded projects into a single strategic programme.” He emphasized that the programmatic approach will generate additional synergies and further increase managerial and administrative efficiency. In addition, he highlighted the importance of the programme in conforming to the principles of the Paris and Vientiane Declarations on Aid Effectiveness.

Mr. Minh Pham, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative, said. “Lao PDR is currently at a critical juncture of development. The recent MDG Progress Report notes that the country is on course to halve poverty by 2015, and in the areas of health, education and water and sanitation, the related MDG targets are within reach by 2015.” He added that i n recent years, high GDP growth has been increasingly driven by high global commodity prices and large inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) attracted by the country's rich natural resource sectors. At the same time, this also brings many challenges, such as ensuring equitable and sustainable growth, mobilizing quality FDI, and managing natural resources for environmental sustainability . However, the UN Resident Coordinator strongly believes this support to MPI will help the Government to address these critical emerging issues and identify targeted actions to better serve the Lao people in need.

Building the capacity of Government at central and local levels in planning, monitoring and reporting of the national development plan is vital. This will help to ensure effective management of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) and FDI to achieve the goals of the 7 th NSEDP, the MDGs and in graduating from Least Developed Country (LDC) status by 2020 .

The significance of the new programme for achieving the Breakthrough Strategies adopted at the IX Party Congress was also highlighted. The Vice Minister emphasized that this consolidated programme acts a strategic framework and as a result interested development partners should contribute to and align their support with the programme.