Laos 'bridging gap to rest of Asean'
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Government officials and development partners have met in Vientiane to report on the progress made in narrowing the development gap between Laos and other Asean nations.
The meeting was part of ongoing efforts to facilitate Laos’s integration with other Asean countries in readiness for the Asean Economic Community, which will come into effect in 2015.
Representatives of the government, Asean Secretariat and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) met at the third annual meeting of the Joint Coordinating Committee to review the progress made in the Laos Pilot Programme for narrowing the development gap.
Initiated in 2010, the pilot programme’s activities cover three components – agriculture, the environment and tourism. The programme is being carried out under the guiding principle of a “Clean, Green and Beautiful Laos”.
The pilot programme was found to have made significant progress. In the field of agriculture, plant nurseries have been established at the Clean Agriculture Development Centre in Vientiane, where renovation of facilities is underway.
These will help develop good agricultural practice at the demonstration farm and will also enhance the operation and management of the Centre, according to the meeting’s findings.
Regarding tourism, public-private partnership promotion in marketing continues to develop.
