The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), a landlocked country with a population of just over 7 million, is one of the 10 member countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lao PDR enjoyed three decades of rapid economic expansion, with its poverty rate dramatically declining from 46% in 1993 to 18% in 2019. The country is on track to transition out of the least developed country status by 2026. Embracing its strategic central location and abundant hydropower resources, Lao PDR is on a mission to transform from a 'landlocked' to a 'land-linked' country and aspires to become the 'battery of Asia.'
Its 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) for 2021-2025 aligns with the Agenda 2030, aiming to promote sustainable, green, and inclusive growth.
Our partnership
The European Union is committed to supporting the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) in its journey toward sustainable and inclusive development. This commitment is aligned with Lao PDR's 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan, its aspirations for graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, the EU Green Deal, the EU's Global Gateway Strategy, and the Indo-Pacific Strategy. The EU's strategic objective in Lao PDR is to promote sustainable and quality trade and investment, particularly in sectors related to the green economy, bolstered by improved governance and enhanced skills.
Team Europe in Lao PDR brings together the EU, the European Investment Bank, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
Together, they have endorsed the Team Europe Strategy for Lao PDR for 2021-2025, with a total estimated funding of €550 million. The EU's initial contribution to this strategy, through the Neighbourhood, Development, and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe), stands at €98 million in grant funding. Further investments will be leveraged through the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) and development banks of the Member States.
Additionally, Lao PDR benefits from various multi-country EU programmes and engages with the EU at the regional level as a part of ASEAN. At the EU-ASEAN Summit in December 2022, the EU announced plans for an expected investment from Team Europe of approximately EUR 10 billion for South-East Asia, including two Global Gateway flagship initiatives with ASEAN: the Green Team Europe Initiative and the Team Europe Initiative on Sustainable Connectivity.
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Our flagship initiatives
- Sustainable agriculture and forestry value chains
The European Union contributes to fostering green, sustainable, and inclusive growth in Lao PDR, with a specific focus on enhancing the coffee, tea, and forest-based value chains. This initiative aims to boost domestic production, processing, and exports, ultimately contributing to increased national revenue and the creation of decent employment opportunities. Key activities to support these goals include:
- Sustainable development of coffee and tea sectors: Implementing agro-ecological, community-based actions to develop the coffee and tea sectors. Building climate resilience is a crucial aspect of our support in these areas.
- Sustainable forest use and conservation: The EU is committed to sustainable forest management and the enhancement of forest-based value chains. Special emphasis will be placed on increasing the involvement of local communities, especially women, in forest use and conservation efforts.
- Encouraging private investment: Supporting private investment in agriculture and forestry sectors through the use of guarantee tools.
- Enhancing connectivity and trade: Rehabilitating National Road 2 to improve connectivity and trade among Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand.
- Education and skills development
Aiming to transform the education sector as a key driver of social cohesion, poverty reduction, gender equality, and economic growth, ensuring no one left behind. Key elements will be:
- Access: Providing and facilitating educational access for all children, particularly those in remote areas or with disabilities, with a focus on maintaining learning continuity, especially for female students.
- Quality: Investing in pre-service and in-service teacher training to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of teaching.
- Relevance: Bridging education with labour market needs by updating vocational training programmes to align with current and future labour demands.
- Resource: Advocating for a sufficient state budget allocation to the education sector through policy and political dialogue with the government and with members of the National Assembly.
- Good governance
Enhance interactions between citizens and the state to drive inclusive national development, the EU is dedicated to supporting civic engagement to promote good governance, human rights, and the rule of law. The Team Europe approach to good governance focuses on:
- Civil society: Improving the dialogue between civil society organisations (CSOs) and state institutions through capacity building, CSO networks, with tailored support to CSOs, including women's organisations.
- Accountability: Supporting the implementation of citizen-oriented decision-making processes within the National Assembly and the Provincial Peoples’ Assemblies. Efforts include supporting the capacity and expertise of these assemblies, enhancing the quality of thematic hearings, promoting knowledge exchange, and improving the skills of female parliamentarians.
- Access to justice and rule of law: Strengthening access to justice by supporting legal aid offices, bolstering legal education, providing training, and promoting the application of human rights legislation.
- Youth climate action
Our commitment involves actively engaging with young people to raise awareness about climate change and the importance of reducing emissions. This engagement occurs either through partnerships with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) or with educational institutions, including:
- Information dissemination, through Facebook campaigns.
- Tree planting activities, and environmental education at schools and universities.
- Public events, such as conferences, biking, cleaning operations... to mobilise the wider community.