Excellencies, Leaders of the Party and the State,

-       Dear Fellow Compatriots, Soldiers, Police and all Lao People,

            Today, 8 August 2021, we jointly commemorate and celebrate the 54^th anniversary of the founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN (8 August 1967 - 8 August 2021) while the world is facing the COVID-19 pandemic as well as natural disasters. Since its inception in 1967, ASEAN has grown into a resilient inter-governmental regional organisation with the aim of maintaining and promoting peace, stability and cooperation for the prosperity of the ASEAN Member States based on the aspiration of the ASEAN Charter that aims to build an ASEAN Community under the ASEAN Motto: “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”.

Special ASEAN-China Ministers’ Meetingin Celebration of the 30^th Anniversary of the Dialogue Relations, Chongqing, China

Vientiane, 26 February 2021 – The United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) announced on 26^th February that having conducted the triennial review of all Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Lao PDR has been recommended for graduation with an extended 5-year preparatory period effectively setting the graduation to 2026 assuming a positive and continued trajection throughout the time period leading up to graduation.

H.E. Mr. Saleumxay Kommasith, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR, expressed “Graduation from LDC status with quality has been a long-term objective of the Government of Lao PDR since 2000. Throughout the years, the Government has emphasized its strong commitment and consistently made significant progress in implementing National Socio-economic Development Plans (NSEDP). However, graduation is not an end in itself and does not imply that no poverty remains. It, somehow, indicates the hard-earned achievements by the Government in many priority areas. Therefore, the result of the review by the CDP paves the way forward for a smooth preparatory period before Lao PDR will be officially removed from the list of LDCs”. He also added that “Taking into account the current circumstances of COVID-19 pandemic, the concerns persist since the data for this review did not fully cover the impacts by the pandemic. Against this backdrop, continued support and assistance from the international community is as much necessary as before the review, especially in the crucial transition period”