Lao government organized RELATED Project Farewell Event to express great gratitude to more than 6 years support.

On Friday afternoon, October 30th 2020, the Farewell Event of the Regional Economic Integration of Laos into ASEAN, Trade and Entrepreneurship Development (RELATED) Project was organized at Mouang Thanh Vientaine Hotel in Vientiane Capital. The event was chaired by Mrs. Khemmani Pholsena, the minister of industry and commerce and Mr. Jens Peter Lutkenherm, Ambassador of Germany in Lao PDR. It was attended by 80 participants from its Lao partners including Lao government and private sector as well as development partners.

The RELATED Project is a bilateral project of the Lao – German Development Cooperation started since 2014. The main objective of the project is to improve the AEC-related policy framework conditions and the capacities of the business sector for using economic potentials arising from Laos’ integration into the ASEAN Economic Community. However, as part of the strategy process “BMZ 2030”, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has decided to phase out the bilateral cooperation with 25 countries including Lao PDR (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Burundi, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Cuba, Lao PDR, Liberia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan). As a consequence, the RELATED Project of the Lao – German Development Cooperation will close at the end of December 2020 .

The Minister of Industry and Commerce stated in her opening remarks that “Over the past six and half years of collaboration, through technical assistance provided by RELATED project, together with all public and private project implementation partners at both central and local level, we have achieved important tangible results in all three components, namely:

1. AEC-related policy framework conditions in the areas of trade in goods, trade in services and investments;
2. AEC-related services primarily through SME Service Center; and
3. Improving competitiveness of AEC-oriented private enterprises in tourism, coffee, organic agriculture, and handicraft sectors.

As key project partner, we are committed to continue supporting key interventions supported under RELATED Project, including facilitating implementation of commitments under AEC Blueprint, further strengthening capacity of SME Service Centers, as well as provision of direct support to SMEs in key export-oriented sectors supported by the project. In addition, I would like to emphasize that we will closely coordinate with development partners, including Germany, and private sectors to implement our support development priorities’’.

In addition, the Minister of Industry and Commerce has expressed sincere thanks to German Government for providing long term bilateral support to promote trade and private sector development in Laos.

The Ambassador of Germany to Lao PDR also highlighted in his welcome remark that “Support to Sustainable Economic Development is one of the focal areas of the German Development Cooperation in Laos. Besides our assistance to Technical and Vocational Education and Access to Finance, the RELATED Project was the main approach of the German Development Cooperation to foster economic policy reforms and private sector development. During the last 6½ years, RELATED has been an invaluable source of knowledge and experiences. The project combined its work on high-level policy-framework conditions, mainly in the areas of trade and investment, some of its results, such as the Doing Business Reforms in Laos Action Plans have the potential to be real game changers.
Moreover, the RELATED team also working closely with Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI) as well as the Lao Handicraft association, the Lao Hotel and Restaurant association and Lao Coffee association to provide the training course, on the job coaching for the business to develop their product and be able to export to the AEC and regional market”.

Last but not least, Mr. Oudet Souvannavong, President of Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI) also highlighted the outcome and results supported by RELATED Projects including the ASEAN Business Awards Laos, which was created that same year and which the LNCCI has been implementing on a yearly basis ever since; The LNCCI Strategy 2018 – 2020 and LNCCI Strategy 2021 – 2025; Establishment of the SME Service Center Structures in Vientiane and the 3 selected provinces Luang Prabang, Champasak and Savannakhet.

During the farewell event, there are a mini fashion show and coffee cupping session which under the RELATED support Laos SMEs to improve their competitiveness. The event will remind the participant and its partners of joint highlight, celebrate joint milestone achieved and remember RELATED with a smile.