Vientiane (VNA) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a 2024–2028 country partnership strategy for Laos, aimed to lay the foundation for a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient economy in the country.
The bank said in a related press release that under the strategy, it will closely collaborate with the Lao government to promote sustainable public finance, enhance equitable access to services, and advance climate actions. The strategy is bolstered by crosscutting themes such as gender equality, improved governance and institutional capacity, stronger climate and disaster resilience, and more regional cooperation and integration.
The strategy introduces comprehensive measures to promote sustainable public finance, leveraging a mix of concessional lending, grants, technical assistance, and knowledge products.
In advancing Lao climate commitments, it will provide significant investment and knowledge support across key sectors such as agriculture as well as the management of natural resources, pollution-waste, and disaster risk, while seeking to boost non-sovereign investments in wind and solar energy in line with the country’s nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement.
To improve equitable access to services, the strategy will focus on addressing gaps in local health care and education, enhancing their quality, and promoting skills development.
In her remarks at the launch of the strategy, Lao Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Phonevanh Outhavong said it suits the country’s national socio-economic development plan for 2020-2025 and considered the scheme a key tool for the sides’ cooperation in boosting Laos’s growth process toward 2025./.
