Opening Remarks at Technical Joint Steering Committee (JSC)

Sabaidee ton sao – good morning! 

Director-General Moukdavanh Sisoulith,
Distinguished representatives from Line Ministries,

Representatives from Lao media, 
Colleagues from the United Nations Country Team:

It is a pleasure to join my co-chair, Director-General Moukdavanh, in welcoming you all to our Technical Joint Steering Committee meeting. I deeply appreciate your presence today. Your participation is a testament to our collective commitment to advancing the sustainable development agenda in Lao PDR.

Our meeting today is an important milestone in our shared governance of the Lao PDR–UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. The Joint Steering Committee meets twice a year – once at the technical level and once at the high level – and today’s session allows us to reflect on what we have achieved together over the past year, review our priorities for 2026, and look ahead to the emerging direction of the next Cooperation Framework for 2027–2031. 

Our discussions today have three core objectives.

First, we will present and launch the 2025 UNCT Annual Results Report, covering the fourth and penultimate year of implementation of our current Cooperation Framework. 

Second, we will present and discuss the 2026 Joint Workplans, which outline how the UN Country Team will deliver more collaborative and integrated support in the final year of our cycle.

Third, we will share updates on the formulation of the 2027–2031 Cooperation Framework, which has been under development through consultations with government, development partners, civil society and other partners. 

An earlier version of the emerging strategic priorities, outcomes and outputs for the next five years was shared with you at the ad-hoc Joint Steering Committee held in January this year. I would like to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, particularly DG Moukdavanh, for convening Line Ministries to 

the proposed outcomes in detail, and for providing Government’s comments. We are very pleased to present the endorsed version to you later this morning. 

Ladies and gentlemen:

A great deal has happened globally and regionally since our high-level Joint Steering Committee held in October 2025. At the global level, we continue to see mounting economic pressures, climate‑related shocks, and widening financing gaps affecting countries’ abilities to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. 

The Sevilla Commitment, adopted at the 2025 Financing for Development Conference in Spain, underscores the urgency of mobilizing large‑scale investments, expanding debt relief, and reforming the international financial architecture to address a global SDG financing gap estimated at USD 4 trillion annually.

The Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3), held in Turkmenistan last year, endorsed the Awaza Programme of Action for the next decade, focusing on five priority areas: structural economic transformation; trade and regional integration; transit, transport and connectivity; climate resilience; and means of implementation to address LLDCs' high trade costs and infrastructure gaps. 

COP30 in Brazil has delivered a call to triple adaptation finance by 2035, a Just Transition Mechanism to support countries in protecting communities as they shift to clean energy; and a recognition that the world is heading for a temporary overshoot above 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Coming to our region, the 2026 Asia-Pacific SDG Progress Report shows that our region will miss 103 out of 117 measurable SDG indicators by 2030 – a staggering 88% of all targets – underscoring the urgency of targeted, coherent development action.

In the face of all these, the UN System continues to face major – and deepening – financial challenges. Between 2024 and 2026, overall resources are projected to fall by about USD 16 billion globally. Correspondingly, the UN80 Initiative, launched by the Secretary-General in March 2025, is a system-wide effort to reshape how the UN system works — so that every mandate, dollar and decision delivers greater impact for people and the planet.

At the country level, the United Nations and Lao PDR have had an eventful 2025. The 14th High-Level Round Table Meeting was held; the UN and several development partners signed the 3rd Vientiane Declaration on Effective Development Cooperation. Marking 70 years of Lao PDR’s membership in the UN, we held a series of commemorative events with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the launch of LaoUN70 stamps with H.E. Prime Minister in attendance. And in December 2025, Laos celebrated 50 years since the establishment of the People’s Democratic Republic.

The year 2026 has had a busy start as well – beginning with the 12th Party Congress in January, followed by Assembly elections in February, and just last week, the opening of the inaugural session of the 10th National Assembly and appointment of the country’s senior leaders across all three branches of government. On behalf of the UN Country Team, let me take the opportunity to congratulate the Government on the newly elected representatives, including nearly 30% women MPs; confirmation of top leadership; and formation of the Cabinet. We are also pleased to note that the 10th National Socio-Economic Development Plan that the UN has helped develop was formally endorsed by legislators.

Dear participants:

Allow me to share a few key highlights from the UN’s joint support in 2025: 

• The UN Country Team delivered US$ 90.7 million, supporting progress across all four strategic priorities of the Cooperation Framework.
• Together we implemented eight joint programmes – on maternal, child and adolescent health; eliminating malaria; responding to HIV/AIDS; promoting nutrition-sensitive agriculture; addressing child marriage and gender-based violence; and promoting green and climate finance; to name a few. These joint programmes bring UN agencies together to leverage their mandates and strengths to accelerate progress on the SDGs.
• We also came together providing relief assistance in support of the Government’s response to tropical storms and floods that affected over 360,000 people across 16 provinces between June and September last year.
• And we strengthened our partnerships across all constituents – jointly advocating for disability inclusion, gender equality and youth empowerment, progressing on our commitments on preventing sexual exploitation and abuse, and engaging with civil society.

More highlights will be covered in the presentation that will follow, which will be delivered in Lao language.

Ladies and gentlemen:

This year marks the first year of the implementation of the 10th NSEDP and the Lao PDR’s scheduled graduation from Least Developed Country status. The UN Country Team remains fully committed to supporting a smooth and sustainable transition, including supporting implementation of the recommendations from the LDC Graduation Readiness Assessment. 

At a time when ODA is declining, the UN Country Team is focusing our efforts on increasing programmatic coherence and joined-up responses to development challenges; strengthening domestic resource mobilization; and leveraging pooled funding mechanisms and global instruments to ensure sustained SDG progress.

So far this year, we have started two new joint programmes – on food systems transformation and on strengthening response to non-communicable diseases. We are also coming together to support the Government’s ambition in Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence by developing new joint initiatives.

We will continue our advocacy under the LaoUN70 initiative until December this year; stepping up our youth engagement by establishing a Youth Advisory Group, and revitalizing joint programmes on youth, skills and jobs. 

And we will support progress on the Early Warnings for All initiative, assist with finalization of Government’s NDC 3.0 targets, and help access resources for disaster loss and damage through the newly established global funding mechanism. You will hear more about these plans from Heads of UN Agencies who lead the work under our four strategic priorities.

Colleagues and friends:

This is a pivotal moment for Lao PDR. We are closing one Cooperation Framework cycle, finalizing [plans for the new one, and supporting the country through a historic transition from LDC status – all while responding to global uncertainty, economic pressures, and climate impacts. The Middle East crisis continues to reverberate across the globe, including South East Asia, affecting global supply chains, markets and energy prices. Unfortunately, the crisis is not abating, and we must be prepared for deeper impacts on our region and on Lao PDR in the coming weeks.

It is more important than ever that we collaborate and work together – I am certain that today’s discussions will help us refine our priorities, strengthen our partnerships, and reaffirm our collective commitment to delivering meaningful results for the people of Lao PDR.

Thank you – khob chai!