Laos and Norway boost cooperation

Lao and Norwegian cooperation in government administration entered a new phase with the visit of a Norwegian delegation to Laos from September 28-30.

The visit of the delegation led by the Director of the Foreign Commission, Olav Akselsen, aimed to increase the level of bilateral cooperation between the governing bodies of both countries, with particular emphasis on legal and regulatory planning.

They also discussed drug monitoring and control in Luang Prabang province. The Norwegian delegation visited commercial sites and facilities, including factories, in the province.

During the talks, the head of the National Assembly’s Foreign Commission Dr Xaysomphone Phomvihane, who is also Vice President of the National Assembly (NA) of the Lao PDR, informed his guest about the structure of the 6 th Legislature of the NA and the progress and targets of socio-economic development in the country.

He explained that the crucial task for the Lao PDR is to reach its target of eliminating poverty among half of the total figure of 263,000 families by 2010, as resolved in the preliminary meeting of the 6 th legislature. In addition, Laos aims to reduce by half the estimated 60,900 hectares currently under slash and burn cultivation.

The government has also set a target to increase the annual per capita income from US$491 at present to US$800 by 2010, and to graduate from the list of least developed countries by 2020.

Dr Xaysomphone highly valued the bilateral cooperation with Norway and expressed his appreciation to the government and people of Norway for their generous assistance and support in infrastructure improvements in the Lao PDR.

H e requested the further support of Norway in contributing to the NA’s capacity-building project. He also requested that Mr Akselsen encourage Norwegian investors to do business in Laos, particularly in the hydropower and agricultural sectors, encouraging them to enter into investment and protection agreements.

From 1986 to 2006 Norwegian investment in Laos has involved six projects in the industrial and consultancy sectors worth US$79 million.

Laos and the Kingdom of Norway established diplomatic relations on November 12, 1991.

Norway is one of the largest aid donors to Laos, including the current project to strengthen the capacity of the NA through the United Nations Development Programme.

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