Technical Meeting of the Joint Steering Committee for the Lao PDR-UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-2026

Director-General Daovy Vongxay, Department of International Organizations, MoFA,

Distinguished Government representatives,

Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen:

It is my pleasure to welcome you to our first Joint Steering Committee meeting of 2024, the mid-point year for our Cooperation Framework.

I take the opportunity to thank Marc-Andre Prost, WFP Representative, for stepping in to co-chair the JSC meeting last December.

The Joint Steering Committee provides the highest level of oversight of all of the work of the UN Country Team in Lao PDR, so our regular meetings and the decisions we take are key to ensuring that support provided is as effective and aligned to national priorities as possible.

By this point, I hope that most here today are familiar with the regular processes for the Cooperation Framework.

One key element that sets it apart from its predecessors is a clear, shared planning cycle that regularly takes stock of what is changing in terms of the development context for Lao PDR; how our implementation of programmes is progressing – and correspondingly determines what our practical priorities for the year should.

During the previous meeting in December, discussion focused on the analysis of the development context, informed by both the Mid-Term Review of the 9th NSEDP, and the 2023 Update of the UN’s Common Country Analysis.

And ahead of today’s meeting, we shared the draft of the 2023 Annual Report, summarising our progress against the objectives and targets that we set ourselves over the past year.

Building on the work over the first two years of the Framework, this report took a step forward in terms of presenting clear, evidence-based progress across the different strategic priorities. This allows us to more clearly identify both where progress is on track, and instances where we need to think about what can be done to accelerate.

Responding to previous JSC feedback, we have also tried to more clearly articulate how we see the activity and project-level work contributing to the broader development outcomes that we are committed to.

We will have a short presentation of highlights from the report this afternoon, but I hope that you have also all had the chance to review the full document in advance.

The report is a key element of how we ensure our accountability to the Government, and by extension, to the people of Lao PDR, so we keenly look forward to your comments today before we submit the report by its deadline at the end of the month.

Following this discussion, equipped with both the analysis of the context from our December meeting and the stocktake of our programme implementation in the Annual Report, we will then shift to presenting our integrated joint workplans for the year.

Similar to the approach being taken by the Government for the third VNR, we have also used the joint workplanning process to reflect on the six key transitions that have been identified globally as key to unlocking acceleration in progress towards SDGs:

• Food systems;
• Energy access and affordability;
• Digital connectivity;
• Transforming education;
• Jobs and social protection; and
• Climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

Thinking through how these different rubrics could apply to our work here in Lao PDR can help us to make sure that we are working on the right issues, and that we recognise the connections between different areas of our work to bring about systemic and irreversible progress.

This thinking will also be key in the lead up to the Summit of the Future that will take place this September, providing an opportunity for Lao PDR to engage in the global discussion on the future of the multilateral system.

I will say more on the Summit and the six transitions in a brief presentation before we move to the joint workplans.

Priorities for each of the four Results Groups under the Cooperation Framework (People’s Wellbeing; Inclusive Prosperity; Governance and Rule of Law; and Environment, Climate Change, and Resilience) will be presented by four agencies, on behalf of the Results Groups they lead.

These have been developed to reflect the joint contributions of the 25 different UN agencies, funds, and programmes that contribute to the Cooperation Framework, working in increasingly integrated and connected ways.

These are still at the draft stage, and feedback from Government counterparts prior to their finalization will be key to ensuring their effectiveness. We therefore very much look forward to hearing your reflections and suggestions on what will be presented.

With all of this, we have a substantive agenda for this afternoon as we work to take the next step forward in the delivery of our shared Cooperation Framework, and to contribute tangible results and impact for the people we serve.

Thank you.

For more information, please see here: https://laopdr.un.org/en/264058-lao-pdr-un-cooperation-framework-steering-committee-meeting-19th-march-2024