Opening remarks by Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone at the 14th Lao Business Forum in Vientiane on March 27,2023

(KPL) The annual 14th Lao Business Forum (LBF) took place in Vientiane today to review progress of public-private dialogue aimed at improving business environment in Laos.

The event attracted more than 400 participants, representing domestic and foreign businesses, public sector agencies, as well as international diplomatic community and development partners.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone acknowledged the importance of private sector development in achieving Government’s objective of diversifying the economy, rebuilding from the COVID-19, and graduating from the LDC status by 2026.

PM Sonexay Siphandone also highlighted common characteristics of high, sustained grow economies, which include openness, macroeconomic stability, future orientation with high saving, market allocation of resources, and effective government.

President of the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Lao PDR Peter Fogde stressed the importance of the work that LNCCI and the foreign chambers are doing for promoting trade and investments in Laos and expressed his hope for an even closer cooperation between LNCCI, the foreign chambers and the Government in the future, with the sole purpose of making Laos the preferred destination for responsible foreign investments.

The annual 14th Lao Business Forum (LBF) took place in Vientiane on March 27

The investments are significantly contributed to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The half day event reviewed progress of the dialogue process since the 13th LBF and demonstrated broad support for structured dialogue under the Lao Business Forum in identification and resolution of key issues affecting private sector in the country.

Private sector speakers also complimented the Government for making concerted efforts in improving environment for doing business in the country. Key achievements include reduction in time and cost for starting a business outside the controlled list of activities, adoption of risk-based approach in business licensing in selected sectors, improving access to laws and regulations related to trade and investment, continuous implementation of commitments made in bilateral, regional, and international trade agreements and capacity building for MSMEs.

Since 13th LBF private sector and concerned government agencies prioritized 49 priority proposals relating to business entry, trade facilitation, access to financial services, enforcement of laws and regulations, promotion of sustainable tourism and agribusiness for structured dialogue, resulting in resolving 21 proposals, making good progress in 20 proposals, and 8 proposals cannot be resolved due to justifiable constraints.

The forum also agreed on concrete plan of actions to continue dialogue and seek appropriate solutions to the remaining 20 proposals in the next twelve months.

Prime Minister closed the meeting by expressing government’s commitment to further enhance effectiveness of public-private dialogue under the Lao Business Forum through increasing accountability of concerned agencies in tackling costs, risks, and barriers to competition.

KPL