Heads of foreign embassies and international organisations called on Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong yesterday at the Government Office to brief him on the the annual round table meeting.
United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative Mr Minh Pham led the foreign delegation's visit.
The annual round table (RTM 2012) was held on Friday, and reviewed implementation of the second year of the Seventh National Socio-Economic Developemnt Plan and discussed future priorities and resources to achieve national development objectives.
The development partners congratulated the Lao government on its achievements during the year.
Priority issues at the RTM 2012 discussion included tackling persistent social disparities through more effective investment in social sectors. Also supported was a new policy that protects the poor and expands development dialogue to encompass the issue of foreign direct investment.
Prudent overall fiscal management, as well as sustainable management of the national debt was also raised at the discussion as an encouragement to minimise risks to the nation's high economic growth, and increase Lao business competitiveness.
The RTM also closely examined ways for the country to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. For the first time, the meeting included the participation of national non-profit associations.
The participants agreed to address the urgent improvements needed in food and nutrition security, using a coordinated approach based on the successful model that helped the country prevent the spread of avian influenza in recent years.
To reduce primary school dropout, RTM participants pledged to work towards mobilising more resources for school food programmes as an incentive as well as the expansion of school block grants. At the same time, they agreed to give greater attention to low-cost but high impact intervention that can meaningfully address major causes of maternal mortality.
The participants expressed their encouragement for deepening good governance by continuing efforts toward enhanced transparency, including during the national budget process.
Lastly, the meeting noted the need for greater space to encourage the participation of emerging donors in the development dialogue, creating new opportunities for civil society partners to participate effectively.
