A groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of classrooms at Kaleum Secondary School.

(KPL) A groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of classrooms at Kaleum Secondary School, Xekong Province, Laos was held on Nov15, 2022.

India Ambassador to Laos Dinkar Asthana (L) and Vice Governor of Xekong Province Khamsone Knoeyer

India Ambassador to Laos Dinkar Asthana, Vice Governor of Xekong Province Khamsone Knoeyer, and Kaleum District Chief Orbula Onmalavong and representatives of Sekong provincial authorities were witnessed at the event. During the ceremony, books for the school library were also gifted.

The project consists of construction of a new building with three classrooms and toilets. After completion of the project, the Kaleum Second School will be able to enroll more students, to study in a more comfortable learning environment.

The project has been financed through a grant assistance of about US$ 50,000 under the Government of India’s Quick Impact Project (QIP) scheme under Mekong-Ganga Cooperation. QIP are projects with short completion periods that directly benefit local communities, with results that are immediate and visible, which contribute significantly to economic and social development and improvement of public welfare, and give impetus to the existing good bilateral relations between India and the Lao PDR, according to the India Ambassador to Laos Dinkar Asthana.

India has taken up 11 Quick Impact Projects in Laos in the areas of health, education, drinking water facility, agriculture, across seven provinces of Laos at the grassroot level. Out of these, four projects have been completed and remaining seven projects are at an advanced stage of implementation.

India’s development cooperation portfolio in the Lao PDR stretches across a broad spectrum—capacity building through the Indian Technical and Economic (ITEC) Programme and long-term scholarships for higher studies, projects under lines of credit or soft loans, joint Lao-India centres for Entrepreneurship development and English language training as well as heritage conservation projects, including restoration of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Vat Phou, by experts from the Archaeological Survey of India deputed under the ITEC Programme.

Mr. Khamsone Knoeyer, Vice Governor of the Xekong Province in his remarks appreciated the provision of assistance for the implementation of the project in the education sector which is an important sector for socioeconomic development of the Lao PDR.

KPL