A consultation workshop was held on 5 August 2022, in Vientiane. The purpose of the workshop was to present the updated version of UN-Habitat’s Country Programme Document (HCPD) to Government partners and to share thoughts on UN-Habitat’s engagement in Lao PDR over the next five years.
The HCPD is the strategic document which guides UN-Habitat’s work, and which outlines national priorities in areas such as urbanization, climate change, and basic services, among others. The HCPD is also a platform for mobilizing stakeholder support. The new Lao document was developed through a process of consultation with Government partners and also with other UN agencies.
Participants at the workshop discussed the challenges in relevant sectors, and the influence that urbanisation is having on Lao development. The HCPD will guide UN-Habitat in its contribution to support the Government in achieving its development goals, particularly linked to sustainable urbanisation, and it was agreed that there is a need for intersectoral coordination and multi-level participation.
Ms Sisomboun Ounavong, DG of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, opened the consultation workshop. Ms Sisomboun expressed appreciation of the comprehensiveness of UN-Habitat’s programme, which includes capacity building at all levels, policy support, and demonstration projects to share best practices in sustainable urbanisation.
In his remarks on behalf of UN-Habitat, Dr Avi Sarkar, Regional Advisor for South-East Asia, (Urban Basic Services) and Head of Office for UN-Habitat Lao PDR, thanked the participating Ministries for their contributions to the HCPD and for their support of UN-Habitat’s work. Dr. Sarkar assured the Government of UN-Habitat’s commitment to continuing support of the Government’s development efforts in the context of rapid urbanisation, climate change, natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic and other pressing challenges.