Remarks at High-Level Launch of the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2021-2025) Financing Strategy (2023-2025)

Ms. Sara Sekkenes

UN Resident Coordinator to Lao PDR

H.E. Saleumxay Kommasith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lao PDR,

Excellencies Ministers and Deputy Ministers,

Excellencies Ambassadors,

Representatives from development partners,

All protocols observed,

• I am honoured to be here with you today for the launch of the Financing Strategy for the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan.
• At a time where development challenges, in Lao PDR and elsewhere, are multi-faceted and require systemic approaches to truly transform the course ahead, you have pioneered new ways of working.
• You have purposefully chosen to embrace the complexities of development, taking the time to think about the challenges, transparently, and collectively. And importantly, use all available evidence to jointly identify solutions, and all available resources to put the solutions into action.
• It precisely, and comprehensively answers the urgency to accelerate progress on national development priorities, translating the UN Secretary General’s call to rescue the SDGs at country level.
• This is remarkable, and an inspiration for policymaking in Lao PDR, for LDCs, and frankly for all countries as they attempt to achieve a sustainable development for all.
• You are true champions of inter-ministerial and multi-stakeholder work and indeed, the thoroughness of the INFF methodology, in collectively arriving to this result is, in my view, as important as the content.
• I wish to congratulate the Government of Lao PDR, and take the opportunity to also direct well-deserved credit and appreciation to you, your Excellency, and to H.E. Minister Khamjane Vongphosy, and his planning team, led by H.E. Mme. Phonevanh Outhavong Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment.

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As the facilitator leading the work of development partners’ contributions to this inter-ministerial effort, allow me to make three brief points:

• First, while much remains to be done in terms of implementation, the very existence of this Strategy is a clear success. It can now be readily implemented, and the Prime Minister has called on all stakeholders to swiftly align their support to the Financing Strategies policies for a coordinated, effective and efficient implementation.

Let me take this opportunity to also that the many contributors to these efforts, the UN Country Team, GGGI, the EU, the World Bank, the OECD, and the Government of Australia who all have leaned into this process.

The Government offers a comprehensive yet streamlined plan with 19 policy priorities, 54 actions, a detailed action matrix, and a monitoring and evaluation framework building on existing coordination mechanisms.

As you will find, the Government has taken seriously recurrent concern raised about policy incoherence, insufficient use of evidence, and lack of focus on implement-ability.

The Financing Strategy formulation took time, but there is now a clear roadmap.

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• Secondly, and importantly, the Strategy does not compromise on the sustainability of development.
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The Financing Strategy is special in that it does not cede to quick fixes and instead, addresses the inherent trade-offs and also synergies that can be achieved among development priorities and indeed, embraces the indivisibility of the SDGs, calling for a more informed, integrated and whole of government approach.

It offers ways out of current financing difficulties building on the exceptional natural capital of the country, without contributing to accelerating climate change and environmental degradation.

It contains solutions to the chronic underfunding of social sectors without pitching them against each other in endless competitions for resources, instead focusing on how to create the systems to make informed budget decisions.

It considers the quality and the distribution of financing flows, across the entire economy, instead of favouring quantity alone, for inclusive and equitable sustainable development.

One concrete example comes from recent discussions on tobacco taxation, requiring coordination across ministries to both achieve health objectives and increase government revenues.

• And lastly, let me put it bluntly, no one can, or should do this alone.

This is not just rhetoric: this is simply a consequence of the increasingly complex world we live in.

The Government of Lao PDR has a difficult equation to solve: restore macroeconomic stability, install popular trust in the economy to stimulate private sector development through high-quality private and foreign direct investments, increase State revenue and its budget, while reducing tensions on the environment and injecting sufficient resources in education, health, and social protection, in a volatile global environment…

This will not work unless there is a whole-of-government approach and if development partners do not strictly align to the principles of development cooperation effectiveness.

So, I say to development partners, including UN agencies: now is not the time for business-as-usual.

Instead, we need take the time to optimise programmes, avoid duplications, and scale up coordinated assistance to Lao PDR’s clearly established priorities.

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• To conclude, as many of you know, I will soon be ending my assignment as UN Resident Coordinator to this marvellous country.

And I could not have asked for a better end than to see this launch take place, joining you to celebrate a model of genuine multi-stakeholder and evidence-based policymaking, seeing Lao PDR lead by example, bringing its development partners together and focus on meaningful development change.

I wish all of you, and many others that I am sure will join you in this effort, success in the implementation of the 9th NSEDP Strategy.

I thank you.