UN Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Ms. Kanni Wignaraja

(KPL) United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ms. Kanni Wignaraja, will visit the Lao PDR from Sep 5-10, 2025.

This will be her second official visit to the Lao PDR since assuming her functions as UNDP Regional Director for Asia-Pacific in 2019. Her first visit in 2022 laid the foundation for a series of collaborative initiatives in various sectors. This visit reflects UNDP’s continued commitment to supporting the Lao Government’s efforts to advance sustainable development. It also coincides with the 60th anniversary of UNDP.

Starting in Luang Prabang, Ms. Wignaraja will visit Nasangwery Village, where UNDP has been implementing the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded Integrated Water Resource Management and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (IWRM-EbA) project, that supports the reduction of flood risk and community resilience to climate change.  She will meet with the Mayor of Luang Prabang and local business leaders to explore potential partnerships in disaster risk management, urban ecosystem restoration, and resilience building.

Ms. Wignaraja will also visit the Luang Prabang One Door Service Centre (ODSC) with the provincial authorities and hand over IT equipment to support the modernization and digitalization of public services to the local population. Her mission in Luang Prabang will conclude a visit to the UXO Lao Visitor Centre.

In Vientiane, Ms. Wignaraja is scheduled to meet high-level government officials to discuss UNDP's support and contribution to national development priorities, including the 10th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) and the Lao PDR’s upcoming transition from Least Developed Country status.

Ms. Wignaraja will join the celebration of UNDP’s 60th Anniversary, the 15th Anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and the Launch of the Lao PDR’s Presidency of the 3rd Review Conference.

She will also join a Dialogue on the Future of Development Financing in the Lao PDR and participate in the Launch of the Gender Situational Analysis of the National Assembly and the Provincial People’s Assemblies, the first such study in the Lao PDR.

Over nearly four decades, UNDP has partnered with the Government of the Lao PDR and local communities to support economic growth, reduce poverty and inequality, clear unexploded ordnance (UXO), improve disaster management, promote good governance and youth participation, and foster inclusive, environmentally sustainable development toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a smooth transition from Least Developed Country (LDC) status. Regional Director Wignaraja’s visit will further strengthen this partnership at a time of shifting aid priorities and a changing Official Development Assistance landscape globally.

KPL