VIENTIANE, 30 November 2022 - H.E. Ms. Cindy McCain, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Rome-based agencies mandated to work on food, agriculture, nutrition and rural development – the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), is visiting Lao PDR to learn about the country’s coping mechanisms amidst the global food crisis, and to highlight U.S. support to Lao PDR and its people. Ambassador McCain said the following about her visit, “The work of the UN Food and Agriculture Agencies is essential to address food insecurity in Lao PDR. Together with the Lao government, the three agencies work to reduce hunger, improve learning and nutrition outcomes for primary school students, strengthen livelihoods of small-holder farmers, and bolster resilience of the country’s food systems. Conflict, especially in Ukraine, climate change, and COVID-19 increased global hunger to unprecedented levels. The United States will continue to be a top contributor and supporter of the agencies work here on the ground and around the world.” During her visit, in the oversight role of the U.S. government as an important donor to the UN food agencies, Ambassador McCain seeks to understand the root causes of food insecurity and malnutrition in Laos, and see UN agencies’ hands-on solutions to these issues and their work on poverty reduction. Visiting Oudomsouk school in Bachieng Chaleunsouk district, she experienced WFP’s support to school-based nutrition in Champassak province. The main and long-term donor to the program is the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with the current support of food commodities arriving through WFP’s supply chain to Lao PDR, contributing to daily nutritious lunches for 64,000 primary school children in 707 schools around the country. While in Champassak, the Ambassador also had a chance to tour WFP’s warehouse in Pakse and learn how the world’s largest humanitarian agency targets the most vulnerable through its nutrition, resilience and emergency response in Lao PDR. “Our Country Strategic Plan for Lao PDR is greatly supported by the United States, with the U.S. Department for Agriculture financing WFP to support the Lao Government’s school feeding programs since 2008, and the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance more recently contributing to our work around resilience for food security. As our programs are gradually shifting to national ownership and community management, we continue to count on the U.S. as an important partner for Lao PDR," WFP Country Director and Representative Jan Delbaere said.  Continuing her journey to the capital Vientiane, Ambassador McCain spent time with FAO learning about its proactive role to sustainably transform the Agri-food Systems and its Early Warning and Response to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and the current food and fuel crisis on vulnerable communities in rural and urban areas. Ambassador McCain learned how tailored and climate-resilient technology solutions applied to crop seeds are important to the agriculture sector in the Lao PDR and the vital role it plays in food systems worldwide. She visited the Rice and Cash Crop Research Center, which develops new varieties, hosts the traditional gene bank and provides quality seeds to farmers in the country and abroad to understand more about their research and development work in quality landrace and traditional seeds, and how this work directly impacts the future of world crop production. The Ambassador continued her visit seeing the development and achievements of an exemplary woman-led – and primarily female membered – smallholder farmers’ cooperative of organic vegetable production. Thongmang Agricultural Cooperative is the main provider for high quality and safe food for Vientiane capital. With FAO support as a selected model farmer group, the cooperative has benefitted from increased opportunities to strengthen its capacities. “I am proud to see how our work with the Government for seed quality improvement and for ensuring production of safe, diverse and nutritious produce with communities is continuously growing and contributing to transforming the food systems in the country. As FAO proactively monitors the impact of the current food and fuel crisis I am also very pleased that we continue to address the farmers’ challenges in food security and livelihoods exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Global efforts are needed to address these issues and we are pleased that the U.S. is supporting our efforts and recognizes the importance of this work for the food security and sustainable growth of the Lao PDR,” Nasar Hayat, FAO Representative to Lao PDR said. The Ambassador was also updated on the development and achievements of IFAD investments in the Lao PDR, focusing on food security, nutrition, and value chain development with market linkages in the government convergence areas in partnership with Rome-based agencies and other development partners, namely to contribute to the elimination of poverty and hunger in rural areas, transforming agriculture, rural economies and food systems through investments, creating more inclusive, productive, resilient and sustainable rural economies. How the United Nations, as a system, is assisting the Government of Lao PDR in these trying times of global insecurity, where the country is facing budgetary constraints due to compounding economic effects of the pandemic, and the global food and fuel crisis associated with the war in Ukraine, was discussed at a meeting with UN agencies led by Ms. Sara Sekkenes, UN Resident Coordinator to Lao PDR. The main focus of the meeting was the joint efforts of UN country team members including its food agencies in support of solutions for food insecurity. The Resident Coordinator highlighted that “the UN’s priority is to support the most vulnerable and marginalized in this crisis. Joint UN efforts such as the program on High Frequency Data are needed which together with the Lao Academy for Economic and Social Sciences generates indispensable data evidence to assess the impact of the current shocks on people in Lao PDR that can inform necessary course corrections for policies and program that aim to tackle the challenges at hand.” Visiting the office of the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), an organization contributing to the national UXO program supported also by UNDP in addressing the legacy of war with explosive ordnance disposal, informed Ambassador McCain of the inherent challenges to food production in war-torn countries contaminated with explosive remnants of war. Courtesy visits were also paid to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meeting with Deputy Minister Phoxay Khaykhamphithoune and to the Champassak Provincial Governor’s office Dr. Vilayvong Bouddakham to hear from national and provincial authorities how U.S. investments and the work of the UN food agencies are received. With a similar aim, Ambassador McCain continues her journey to Cambodia before returning to her duty station in Rome, Italy. For more information please contact: Ildiko Hamos, WFP Partnerships and Communications Coordinator, Tel. +856 (0)21 330 300 ext. 2229, Mob. +856 (0)20 7717 7913, ildiko.hamos@wfp.org Vilaylack Khounvisith (Kook), FAO Lao PDR Communications Team, Tel. +856 (0)21 413205, 414503, 450455, Mobile/WhatsApp: +8562055558815, Vilaylack.Khounvisith@fao.org , Website: http://www.fao.org/laos

The motto of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR)’s National Green Growth Strategy, i.e., “For achieving the economic growth that is efficient, clean, comprehensive, inclusive, fair and resilient to climate change and global economic uncertainties”, emphasising clean and climate-resilient growth, is now more significant than ever in the face of the intertwined and cascading global crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution – the Triple Planetary Crisis. As pointed out by United Nations (UN) Secretary General António Guterres, “the climate crisis is the defining issue of our time”. More broadly, “humanity is waging war on nature”, which calls for urgent and radical change in the way we interact with the environment. The 27th Climate Change Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27) – which officially opened in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday 6 November, offers us a chance to reflect on this pressing challenge. The 27th session of the COP takes place 6-18 November 2022 – with a view to building on previous efforts and paving the way for future ambition to effectively tackle the global challenge of climate change. A threat to sustainable development, globally and in Lao PDR Today, the Triple Planetary Crisis is the single largest obstacle to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed by world leaders in 2015. As a result of continued greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, global warming has reached 1.1°C compared to pre-industrial levels. Climate change is causing extreme weather with ever-increasing frequency and intensity, threatening to undo hard-won development gains. In 2020, climate shocks forced 30 million people to flee their homes. It also has drastic impacts on human health – between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress. Biodiversity and people’s well-being are also inextricably linked: biodiversity is the basis for crucial ecosystem services on which we dependent for everything from food to clean water, medicine, and the supply of materials used across economic activity. Yet, our relentless demand for the earth’s resources is devastating ecosystems and accelerating extinction rates, undermining biodiversity and nature’s future ability to provide such contributions. Around 1 million of the world’s 8 million species of plants and animals currently face the threat of extinction. Humanity is also failing to take action to reduce air and water pollution, safely manage chemicals, and reduce and manage waste. As a result, pollution causes around 9 million premature deaths annually. Certainly, as well as many other developing nations, Lao PDR is not amongst the largest contributors to the crisis. Lao PDR’s greenhouse gas emissions are only a fraction of those of developed nations. Despite worrying trends of an alarming deforestation rate around 1% annually, its nature is still vast and under increased good forestry management, and while it is a rapidly growing issue, pollution also remains less severe here than in many other countries. But the Triple Planetary Crisis knows no borders and Lao PDR is not immune to the implications of this global emergency. Climate change affects every nation: Lao PDR is projected to experience a 2–3 °C rise in temperature by 2050, and recent tropical storms Mulan and Noru in August and September highlighted the country’s vulnerability to extreme weather events. The current food crisis is already exposing the global nature of food security. Biodiversity loss – threatening annual global crop output worth between US$235 billion and US$577 billion due to pollinator decline – will worsen food insecurity in all countries, including Lao PDR. Pollution is similarly transboundary: air pollution crosses borders and water pollution runs down rivers, not least the regionally significant Mekong River and its tributaries. We must all take action to protect the environment Addressing the Triple Planetary Crisis calls for action by all countries, and all people. Lao PDR has already made vigorous efforts in this regard. The 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan 2021-2025 includes targets and activities to mitigate all aspects of the crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The importance of environmental considerations in development is also reflected in the National Green Growth Strategy. To ensure aspirations turn into action, Lao PDR developed the 9th NSEDP Financing Strategy with “green growth and climate finance” as a priority sector. On the international stage, Lao PDR set the regional bar by becoming the first ASEAN country to pledge net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the Climate Ambitions Summit in December 2020. Following COP26, Lao PDR announced targets for 2030 including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60%, increasing forest cover to 70% of total land area, promoting increased use of renewable and clean energy through a 30% share of electric vehicles and 10% biofuel. Notwithstanding such efforts, there are still numerous opportunities and an immediate necessity to step up action. As of today, no country is doing enough. Lao PDR’s limited resilience and near-annual exposure to natural disasters urgently calls for strengthening climate adaptation to shift from cycles of disaster relief to disaster mitigation, preparedness and prevention. Ecosystem-based adaptation solutions tried and tested elsewhere could be cost-effectively implemented in Lao PDR through South-South Cooperation and bring biodiversity co-benefits. During COP26 in Glasgow last year, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement, the Government recommitted to reaching a Net Zero Emission by 2050. To ensure effective implementation, the government has been working with relevant institutions and development partners to develop a strong policy framework including an updated National Climate Change Strategy up to 2030, an updated Nationally Determined Contribution (2021), and to mainstream climate change adaptation and mitigation into the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2021-2025). In addition, UN research suggests Lao PDR could become carbon neutral by 2040 by adopting a circular economy approach. More immediately, the COP27 in Egypt now officially open will enable the Lao delegation to take part in crucial climate discussions – amongst others on access to climate finance to achieve the country’s net-zero target. It is also an opportune time to further accelerate adoption and implementation of climate-conscious policy. Beyond government, addressing the Triple Planetary Crisis will require a whole-of-society approach, involving all stakeholders including you and us. To achieve nation-wide green growth, private sector investment must be directed towards environmentally sound technologies, increasingly available and at rapidly decreasing cost. These can be accelerated through targeted fiscal incentives for priority sectors. Applying a human rights-based approach to climate action can improve outcomes and empower the most affected groups and peoples. Lao PDR’s younger generation can also play a role in addressing this crisis. They can make their homes and schools more environmentally friendly by reducing waste and preserving resources such as water and electricity. They can share their creativity and innovative idea to raise awareness on climate change and environmental issue with the whole society. Environmentally-aware youth can set the example – calling on older generations to step up their efforts – and soon become the next generation of decision-makers to implement the radical environmental changes we need. It is in everyone’s interest to jointly expand environmental protection. And beyond mutual interest, the urgent need to protect nature is above all an opportunity for global solidarity. It is a chance for every individual to act, to make a contribution to the global effort to preserve our common planet, and to play a part in bringing humanity one step closer to living in peace, dignity and equality, within the planetary boundaries upon which all our other aspirations depend. Op-Ed, co-penned by H.E. Mme Bounkham Vorachit, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, and Ms. Sara Sekkenes, UN Resident Coordinator to Lao PDR.

In November 2021, Bangladesh, Lao PDR, and Nepal officially qualified to graduate out of the least developed countries category by 2026. This was an important development milestone for the three countries marked by reaching threshold criteria in per capita gross national income, human assets index, and economic and environmental vulnerability index for two consecutive three-year cycles. The three countries differ significantly in terms of their economies, geographies, and histories. Yet, they share the common prospect of graduating out of the LDC category in the aftermath of the greatest global pandemic in living memory, followed by the cascading effects and impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine, against the backdrop of the intensifying triple planetary crisis. Bangladesh is among the countries that extensively use the international support measures for LDCs to increase exports and produce pharmaceuticals for domestic and international markets. Given the dependence of exports on duty-free-quota-free market access, the Government and private sector of Bangladesh would like to prioritize advocacy and negotiations for continuation of the trade and intellectual property related support measures and preparing the country to access better trade deals. Nepal, on the other hand, has not been able to fully utilize available international support measures due to the supply side constraints, and so its losses in trade and erosion in concessional aid are expected to be low in the short to medium term. However, Nepal may experience constraints on diversifying exports due to high tariffs, loss of flexibility in the implementation of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement, limited flexibilities to promote infant industries and other.  To offset these challenges, the Government of Nepal and the private sector prioritize international support to accelerate economic transformation, bring foreign direct investment, and access to development finance, particularly climate finance. For Lao PDR, the case is of relatively limited exports taking place under LDC-specific market access arrangements as most trade is covered by regional agreements, but LDC provisions are important for some key sectors and a growing demand for new export markets. Key challenges for Lao PDR in managing a smooth transition relate to securing sufficient development finance, in particular climate finance, and strengthening integrated planning to support economic transformation and sustainable long-term development. Rising inflation and emerging complexities around the price of food, energy, and finance over the course of 2022 have subsequently added to the difficulties and challenges for these three countries. In this context, the UN in the three countries is supporting respective governments in addressing country-specific needs associated with graduation within their Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks. A key imperative for LDC graduation is to ensure that the transition is smooth and sustainable in the face of shocks and a changing global context. For this, the three graduating countries are formulating nationally owned, time-bound, and action-oriented Smooth Transition Strategies. Relevant expertise, knowledge, and capacity to support the development, and later implementation, of these strategies sits across different parts of the UN development system- at national, regional, and global levels. This includes dedicated specialists in UNDESA—including with its secretarial support to the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), which advises the Economic and Social Council of the UN General Assembly on a wide range of issues relevant for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development including the LDC graduation process, —OHRLLS, UNCTAD, and ESCAP, as well as in-country technical capacities in agencies such as ITC, ILO and UNDP and the overall in-country coordination of systemwide efforts supported by the strategic economic and development analysis and planning capacity of RCOs led by UN Resident Coordinators. The reform of the UN has created the opportunity to take a significant step forward in the efficiency with which this distributed capacity can be used to support government efforts. In particular, to facilitate the process and help land such support among in-country stakeholders, as Resident Coordinators of the three countries, thanks to new ways of working, we have been able to convene integrated cross-country support that is showing the potential to make a difference at this key moment for the three countries. This has included regular discussions across the RCOs of the three countries to coordinate approaches, share practice and facilitate peer learning, and support the three countries in leveraging a common voice, aligning their positions for international negotiations. Challenged by COVID-19, but nonetheless almost two years of effective background work, and a first virtual meeting among government representatives in 2021, this led to physically bringing the three governments together for a joint South-South Exchange. The three RCOs, with support from the UNDESA and in collaboration with the UN-OHRLLS and UNESCAP organized the conference on formulating smooth transition strategies in Bangkok in August 2022. Among the participants were Government officials who would lead and draft the transition strategies, and representatives from the private sector and civil society. Experts from UN Development System, multilateral organizations, representative from the Republic of Korea and Viet Nam, academia, and think-tanks also joined. The topics discussed ranged from challenges and priorities of each country to specific thematic issues common to all countries. These included issues like leaving no one behind, market access, intellectual property rights, export diversification, climate action, the criticality of investments into human capital, development finance, and domestic resource mobilization. This broad and inclusive participation and agenda showcased promising practice and possible pathways ahead, but also highlighted the many trade-offs that must be addressed to ensure a sustainable, irreversible, and quality LDC graduation. LDC graduation not only brings changes to the trade and finance landscape, but it also directly affects people – workers in the sectors most impacted, and unskilled workers across the board. Particularly affected are women in the informal sector and in factory jobs and, importantly, the prospects for future employment opportunities which underscores the criticality of investments into human capital looking ahead. It is, therefore, an imperative to ensure that LDC graduation is inclusive and that the smooth transition strategies incorporate the interests of all stakeholders, including workers and an outlook that stretches beyond the immediate concerns. To that end the South-South Exchange included discussions on leaving no one behind, inclusive institutions, environmental and labour standards, and human rights as key drivers for sustainable economic growth. Also on the agenda was climate change and the potential for climate action to be supported by concessional climate finance to drive sustainable development of these LDCs. Government representatives of all three countries actively engaged in these discussions. During final presentations, they committed to work on the issues on inclusive development, increased investment in human capital, labour and human rights, and environmental standards for an informed smooth transition strategy. The discussions unpacked some of the needs of the three countries for policy, capacity, and technical support, and they clarified areas where joint advocacy could be leveraged to create space for advanced engagement and broader development cooperation. The event also provided the opportunity for the private sector representatives of the three countries to engage directly with each other. There is also interest among the three governments to continue the peer exchange and learning through virtual discussions. Importantly, the work also serves to demonstrate what can be achieved with more coordinated and integrated support from across the UN system, also when capacities do not sit directly in-country. The preparations for a smooth LDC graduation cut across the mandates of many parts of government and of the UN development system, offering the potential to spur integrated and transformational ways of working, and to address some of the most pressing and challenging multidimensional development challenges facing countries today. The next steps in the process will involve each country identifying the needs for technical, financial and policy support in more granular detail, and mobilizing country-specific support through the UN and other development partners. The UN’s support to the three countries will require to be tailored to the needs identified in these ongoing discussions and be fully anchored within the respective UN Sustainable Development Frameworks. Our offices will carry on the collaboration across the three RCOs and with UNDESA at the technical level to facilitate exchange between the three Governments. We will continue to coordinate our advocacy and messaging both internally and in international fora. Delivering as One-UN can go beyond country teams and across borders and indeed, also coherently align UN efforts vertically from HQ through regional to country-based support in line with the ambitions of the UN development system reform.

Vientiane, 28 September 2022 – Under the chairmanship of H.E. Phonevanh Outhavong, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment and Ms. Sara Sekkenes, UN Resident Coordinator to Lao PDR, a High-Level Structured Dialogue was convened to validate the final draft of the Financing Strategy for the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) 2021-2025. After nearly two years of technical work and broad-based consultations, the event saw the presentation of policy objectives, actions and implementation arrangements as agreed among 10 ministries and 20 national institutions to address Lao PDR’s financing constraints and increase investment needed to support the achievement of the national development priorities set out in the 9th NSEDP. Led by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Dialogue was attended by representatives from the Government of Lao PDR, notably departments involved in the policy formulation including the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Lao PDR, the Ministries of Industry and Commerce, of Environment and Natural Resources, of Energy and Mines, of Agriculture and Forestry, of Education and Sports, of Health, of Foreign Affairs and others, as well as embassies, bilateral and multilateral development agencies, the private sector, the INGO network, and the UN Country Team. In her opening remarks, H.E. Phonevanh Outhavong, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment said: “The draft Financing Strategy is well aligned with the government’s directions for quality, focused, green and sustainable growth. We appreciate the partnership with the UN and all relevant sectors and development partners in a collaborative effort to help identify, understand and improve the flow of resources towards financing our national development priorities contained in the 9th NSEDP, including through measures instrumental to supporting the re-orientation of investments towards more sustainable development in line with the national plan. This is of significance considering the limited development finance, economic difficulties, and additional investments required to address our national agenda as we transition towards graduating from the Least Developed Country status in the near future.”    Preparing for the 2022 Round Table Meeting, expected in late November,the dialogue allowed development partner representatives to share views and potential support for the Financing Strategy’s 54 policies and actions, and to cement partnerships for a successful implementation. Ms. Sara Sekkenes, UN Resident Coordinator to Lao PDR emphasised the necessity to invest in human capital and a greener growth, saying: “there are two considerable challenges that cannot afford to wait. The first one is safeguarding investments in human capital. The second challenge is to counter an existential threat of more global dimensions: the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss, and pollution.” Adding that ”such courageous decisions may limit economic return in the short run but yield sustainable long-term growth to the benefit of future generations." The Financing Strategy formulation was led by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, with broad technical assistance coordinated by the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, including from the UN Joint Programme on Financing Efficiency funded by the Joint SDG Fund, implemented jointly by UNDP, UNCDF, and UNFPA, and with additional contributions from UNDESA, UNEP, UNICEF, UNODC, WHO as well as the World Bank, GGGI, Australia, Japan, EU, ADB, and JICA. The Financing Strategy is expected to be endorsed by the Government of Lao PDR by the end of this year.