Mr. Sommat Pholsena, Vice President of the National Assembly

He proposed that the government continue to prioritise efforts to resolve several pressing issues, including addressing economic and financial difficulties, improving living standards, rectifying social distortions, and ensuring social justice—particularly through more effective enforcement of laws and court rulings.

The Standing Committee also urged greater attention to socio-economic development targets that have shown slow progress. While gross domestic product growth met planned targets, the average per capita income over the past five years reached only USD 2,085—below the National Assembly’s target of USD 2,880—mainly due to depreciation of the kip. Economic structural transformation also fell short of targets, with the service sector expanding by just 4.52% (target: 6%) and accounting for 36.10% of GDP (target: 40.7%). Limited processing in agriculture and industry continues to result in low value-added output, efficiency, and quality, hindering green and sustainable development.

The Standing Committee further highlighted weaknesses in the implementation of monetary policy. Inflation-control measures, it noted, were not sufficiently coordinated among key sectors such as production and trade. Currency management has yet to strictly follow legal provisions—particularly concerning the use of the kip and the management of foreign exchange from imports, exports, and investments.

Additionally, the management and utilisation of natural resources, especially minerals, were deemed inefficient and insufficiently effective, with continued negative impacts on the environment and society. Despite government efforts to address these issues, many challenges remain unresolved.

KPL