Technical Public – Private Dialogue in Luang Namtha Province

Luang Namtha Province, 15 March 2022, the Luang Namtha Provincial Division of Industry and Commerce in cooperation with Luang Namtha Provincial Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a Technical Public-Private Dialogue supported from the ECL Project which is funded by the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF).
The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Sengphanomchone Inthasane, Deputy Director-General, Department of Planning and Cooperation, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Deputy Director of the Luang Namtha Provincial Division of Industry and Commerce, and the President of Luang Namtha Provincial of Chamber of Commerce and Industry. There were more than 50 Participants (16 women) participated this meeting from both public and private sectors.

Primary objective of the meeting was to continue the implementation of the public-private dialogue mechanism. This dialogue is to present the private sectors’ priority issues to the relevant public sectors for seeking joint and appropriate solutions to the local business environment.

The Deputy Director of the Luang Namtha Provincial Division of Industry and Commerce stated on the opening remark that we still encountered challenges during the adaptation of the new relevant laws and regulations, especially the consistency in the implementation of trade-related laws and regulations between central and local levels, and among the local-level agencies. These challenges caused hindrances to the local business development and employment, which impacted the implementation of poverty reduction in the area.
Mr. Sengphanomchone Inthasane, the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Planning and Cooperation, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, emphasized in his remark on the significance of implementation of the Technical Public and Private Dialogue for both public and private sectors to improve business environment at the provincial level. The mechanism is derived from the Lao Business Forum, which implements at Vientiane Capital. In addition, he also proposed for the Provincial Division of Industry and Commerce and the Provincial Chamber of Commerce and Industry to co-implement this dialogue to support the public sectors on addressing business operation-related issues proposed by the private sector, and to support the monitoring of the trade-related law enforcement and implementation in the provinces, as well as to ensure the effective continuation and sustainability of this mechanism.

The President of Luang Namtha Provincial of Chamber of Commerce and Industry summarized the current business environment in Luang Namtha Province in his opening remark that the government previously put a great effort on improving laws, regulations, mechanism and public services in general to facilitate the private sectors as well as the business operation. However, there are some parts that do not adequate to the current business situation. Therefore, in order to further improve the business environment effectively, the private sectors have collected all trade-related issues happening in Luang Namtha Province, including the procedure that remain as constraints of the business operation, for the public sectors in provincial and district levels to consider addressing the local business issues effectively.
During the meeting, the summary of 12 trade-related issues proposed by the private sectors was discussed. Among the 12 issues, 1 issue was clarified and 11 issues were discussed and continued on the process of addressing. In addition, the participants have chances to informally exchange their information, challenges, and progress of addressing the trade-related issues.

In his closing remark, the Director of the Division of Industry and Commerce reiterated the meeting’s discussions and expressed his great gratitude toward the active contribution of the participants.

The meeting was supported by ECL Project which is funded by the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF). EIF is an Aid for Trade partnership in action for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The ECL Project intends to promote private sector-led economic growth in the least developed Northern Region of the country in response to the Government’s eight National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP). The project consists of three components: Improvement of the local business environment, Enhancement of productivity and exports of critical sectors, and project management.