Remarks at High-level Joint Steering Committee

• Excellency Mr. Anouparb Vongnorkeo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

• Directors-General, DDGs, distinguished representatives from line ministries

• UN colleagues:

It’s a great pleasure to join Deputy Minister in welcoming you all to the 2025 High-Level Joint Steering Committee. I would like to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for leading this important platform, and to all ministries for your continued partnership throughout the year. This is also the first JSC I co-chair with Deputy Minister Anouparb – thank you and may there be many more.

This year 2025 carries special significance. It marks the 70th anniversary of Lao PDR’s membership in the United Nations, and the 80th anniversary of the UN as an organization. These milestones remind us of the deep value of partnership built over seven decades of cooperation and a shared commitment to peace, development and prosperity.

As we gather today in October, it is worth reflecting upon what has been a truly eventful year. Domestically, 2025 has seen the Government’s strong leadership in developing the 10th NSEDP, together with its companion pieces, the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and the Financing Strategy. It has also been a year of institutional and legislative transformations, marked by restructuring of Ministries and institutions, and revision of the Constitution.

Just yesterday, we witnessed the launch of the 5th Population and Housing Census, a once-in-a-decade exercise that provides essential data to guide national planning, policymaking and progress monitoring towards the SDGs. 

In less than a month, the High-Level Round Table Meeting will take place, serving as a unique platform for decisionmakers at national and sub-national level and development partners to come together to discuss development pathways. This year’s RTIM is not only a high-level event, but also a pivotal moment as we conclude the 9th NSEDP, launch the 10th Plan and prepare for Lao PDR’s graduation from LDC status in 2026.

At the global level, the world continues to evolve at a high pace. The 80th Session of the UN General Assembly and the UN80 Initiative have placed renewed focus on reforming the UN system to be leaner, more agile and more accountable. These reforms aim to simplify structures, reduce mandates and bureaucracy, and ensure that the UN remains results-driven and fit for purpose in a changing world. 

Just last week, the Secretary-General gave an update to the General Assembly on all three workstreams of UN80, with an emphasis on structural changes presented ahead of the high-level week in September. Many of the recommendations he made in the report “Shifting Paradigms: United to Deliver” will require Member States’ blessing in the immediate future, but some entail an urgent re-think of how UN works presently.

Meanwhile, the global development financing is tightening at an unprecedented rate, with ODA shrinking and domestic agendas in donor countries increasingly conditioning multilateral priorities and putting pressure on available resources. As a sign of times, just yesterday, the Vientiane Times ran a front-page headline on reductions of UN staff and budgets. 

The financing picture has never been this dramatic – and for Lao PDR, these shifts are already visible. As noted in our last technical JSC meeting in March, many UN-supported programmes have faced funding reductions, especially in areas such as health, education, governance, and gender equality. 

Our projections indicate that next year will be even more difficult than 2025, so we must bind together to deliver critical programmes and support.

Dear colleagues and friends:

The JSC is our highest platform to guide the strategic direction of our Cooperation Framework in Lao PDR. In March of this year, our Technical JSC launched two important processes – the Evaluation of the current Cooperation Framework and the implementation of the 2025 Joint Workplans.

Seven months later, we come together today to review progress. The Evaluation Report has been finalized, providing valuable insights and recommendations to shape the next Cooperation Framework (2027–2031).

Despite a busy and turbulent year, our focus has been on implementing the 2025 Joint Workplans and safeguarding investments across outcomes and priority areas. Today, we will hear updates from our Heads of Agencies, as Result Groups leads, regarding the progress for 2025 and priorities for next year under each of our four priority areas: People’s Wellbeing; Inclusive Prosperity; Governance and Rule of Law; and Environment, Climate Change and Resilience.

Today’s discussion will help us identify what is working, where adjustments are needed, and how to strengthen our collective efforts for maximum impact. This is the core of our deliberations today — and let me count on your guidance as members of the high-level JSC to shape our joint priorities for the year ahead.

As much as 2025 has been a pivotal year, next year will be crucial for the UN Country Team in Lao PDR. As the current CF enters its final phase, our focus turns to shaping the next five-year cycle of partnership, one that is fully aligned with the 10th NSEDP and the country’s smooth transition from LDC status.

The lessons from the CF Evaluation, together with the priorities emerging from the 2025 Joint Workplans, provide a strong foundation for this next phase. They remind us that sustaining and accelerating progress in an evolving development landscape will require transformative solutions, strong national ownership, deeper partnerships, and innovation – all supported by strategic and predictable financing.

As we move forward, the UN Country Team remains fully committed to working hand in hand with the Government and development partners to deliver integrated, impactful support through joined-up work; sharper data and foresight; and digital and behavioral innovations – also known as building blocks of UN 2.0, the vision of a modernized United Nations.

Together, informed by national priorities and in the spirit of 70 years of cooperation, we can make 2026 both a solid conclusion to the current Cooperation Framework and a confident beginning of a new chapter in the Lao PDR—UN partnership.

Thank you.