MOIC and USAID Convened the 6th Project Review Committee Meeting of the USAID Laos Business Environment Project
Vientiane Capital, June 14, 2023 — The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) convened the 6th Project Review Committee Meeting of the USAID Laos Business Environment Project (LBE) at Lao Plaza Hotel, Vientiane Capital.
Dr. Khamphet Vongdala, Director-General, Department of Planning and Cooperation, MOIC, and Mr. Cullen Hughes, Director, Office of Economic Growth, Education and Energy, USAID, co-chaired the meeting. Participants included the Project’s key technical government and private sector focal points, project counterparts, and development partners.
The principal objectives of the meeting were to review the results of project implementation during the January – June 2023 timeframe and present and discuss priorities for the project work plan for July – December 2023.
Since its inception, USAID’s LBE project has achieved several results, such as: awarding three partnerships grants totaling $70,306 to support two handicraft groups in Champasak as well as a consultancy to provide business skills training in partnership with Katalyst to 25 small and medium enterprises in Vientiane. LBE has also helped to finalize the draft decree on the Tourism Promotion Board (TPB), amend the Law on Electronic Transactions, and the enactment of five Ministerial Decisions relating to intellectual property protection.”
During his opening remarks, Dr. Khamphet Vongdala stated that “the project has been making important contributions to the implementation of our national post pandemic SME/Private Sector development priorities. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to US Government and USAID for its commitments to trade and private sector development in Laos, particularly for providing resource to the LBE”.
Mr. Cullen Hughes also highlighted the strong and expanding U.S.-Laos economic cooperation ties, stating that: “USAID has focused on supporting SME resilience and recovery so that Laos can be well-positioned for its 2026 LDC graduation and chart a path for long-term, broad-based, and sustainable growth”.
The MSME Promotion Agency, the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Department of Foreign Trade Policy presented the Laos Business Environment Project’s six-month progress report as well as the priorities for the second half of FY 2023.
The USAID Laos Business Environment Project is a five-year program that aims to assist the Lao government in improving the climate for investment and trade and enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises.
