(KPL) Mr. Bouakhong Nammavong, Minister and Head of the Prime Minister’s Office, held a press conference on the results of the 1st Government Open Meeting of 2024 in Vientiane on Jul 17.

The Government Open Meeting, the first of its kind in 2024, was held on Jul 15- 17 at the National Convention Centre in Vientiane.

Presided over by Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, the meeting was attended by deputy prime ministers, government members, provincial governors, Vientiane Mayor, representatives of Party and state organizations equivalent to ministries, the Lao Front for National Development, legislative and judicial bodies, the Lao Veterans Federation, mass organizations, the State Audit Organization, and the State Inspection Authority.

The special aspect of this meeting was listening to the guidance speech of General Secretary and State President Thongloun Sisoulith.

He emphasized the need for government members, provincial governors, and Vientiane Mayor to increase their collective responsibility to address urgent economic issues, including rising exchange rates, inflation, high goods prices, public debt, and foreign debt, and focus on creating favourable conditions for domestic production to increase, and be more effective. He urged the meeting to turn crises into opportunities by implementing concrete measures, identifying priorities with specific timeframes, and effectively assigning responsibilities to relevant parties.

The meeting approved reports on the implementation of the first six months' tasks and plans for the second half of the year. These include budget plans, monetary plans, and priorities of rural development and poverty eradication.

The meeting called on relevant sectors and localities to continue to uphold their responsibility for and participation in realising targets of economic-social development plans, state budget plans, and monetary plans for 2024.

Relevant authorities were asked to focus on removing constraints to the national socio-economic development to ensure political stability, peace and social order and stable economic growth, speed up addressing macroeconomic vulnerabilities, and translate the guidance of President Thongloun Sisoulith into concrete actions.

The meeting also approved reports on resolving urgent economic, financial and social issues. Relevant ministries were urged to focus on executing their assigned tasks according to the guidance of the government.

KPL