Sustainable Development Goals spur progress in Laos, PM tells

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith outlined the government’s stance on the SDGs at the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York on September 23.
“We regard implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals as our international obligation, which will not only contribute to the realisation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but will also bring development benefits to Laos,” he said.
The government will focus on green growth and sustainable development, maintaining steady economic growth, achieving constant reduction of poverty and graduating from Least Developed Country status.
In addition to the 17 SDGs, the Laotian government has adopted an additional goal (SDG 18): “Lives Safe from UXO” – unexploded ordnance.
“I myself together with [UN] Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon formally launched the SDG 18 on September 7 in Vientiane,” Thongloun said.
The targets of this particular SDG are to ensure that by 2030 residual UXO activities are undertaken and all known UXO contamination in high-priority areas and all villages defined as “poor” are cleared; that annual casualties from UXO accidents are eliminated to the extent possible; and that all identified UXO survivors and victims have their needs met.
Laos is a least-developed and landlocked country that continues to face many challenges and impediments in the development of infrastructure and quality human resources, thus requiring continued support and assistance from the international community.
“I am confident that with the strong determination of the Lao government coupled with the continued cooperation and assistance of the international community, we will be able to achieve those goals,” Thongloun said.
He went on to refer to the government’s support for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
“I very much hope that the Paris Agreement will enter into force by the end of this year and will be effectively implemented. For its part, the government has submitted its Nationally Determined Contributions and integrated climate change, natural-disaster risk reduction and management into the National Socio-Economic Development Plan,” the prime minister said.
Laos continues to hope that the issue of Palestine will be resolved by peaceful means by the parties concerned with a view to creating the two independent states of Palestine and Israel living side by side in peace, he said.
Laos welcomed the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the Republic of Cuba, and expressed strong hope that such relations will be further enhanced, leading to the lifting of the US embargo on Cuba in the near future.
Laos reiterates its firm commitment and determination to continue to work closely with the international community to build a more secure, peaceful, just and prosperous world, he said.
“Laos is proud and honoured to assume the Asean chairmanship in 2016, the first year of the Asean Community. In this spirit, we introduced the theme ‘Turning Vision into Reality for a Dynamic Asean Community’ with the aim of realising the Asean Community Vision 2025,” Thongloun said.
The Asean summits and related summits that were held last month adopted many important documents relating to cooperation within Asean and between Asean and its external partners, he said. All this has contributed significantly to the common cause of maintaining and promoting peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world at large, as well as the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
This is the first year of the implementation of Laos’ 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
“It is my view that we need to deepen understanding of the SDGs at the national, regional and international levels in order to integrate these goals into our respective national development plans, and to mobilise sufficient resources for the effective implementation of this agenda,” he said.