(KPL) On Jan 23, 2026 — Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone has called on the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare to accelerate the development of high-quality Lao labor skills that meet the demands of both domestic and foreign markets.

Speaking at the Annual Technical Conference on Labor and Social Welfare 2025, the Prime Minister stressed that labor development must be carried out systematically and in close coordination with actual employers. He said labor units should take part in workforce demand planning, skills development, and the direct recruitment of trained workers to ensure job competency, discipline, stable employment, and sustainable income for workers and their families.

The Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of strengthening the labor market information system to better balance labor supply and demand across socio-economic sectors, while linking it with other databases such as the payroll tax system.

On social protection, he called for a stronger and more efficient system to effectively implement state social security policies, particularly for disadvantaged groups, the poor, disaster victims, workers with meritorious revolutionary service, enterprise employees, and freelance professionals. He highlighted the need to expand access to insurance and social security services, promote voluntary social security participation among informal workers at the local level, and improve the transparency and sustainability of the National Social Security Fund.

He further urged the development of a comprehensive social welfare system to support the poor and disaster-affected communities through broad social participation, enhanced disaster prevention, emergency response, post-disaster recovery, and more effective clearance of unexploded ordnance.

The Prime Minister instructed relevant authorities to speed up assistance for those with meritorious revolutionary service, ensuring accurate data, unified implementation, and transparent management of policy funds to avoid duplication or omission of beneficiaries.

He also called for strengthening labor and social welfare management based on laws and regulations, improving policy dissemination, and enhancing coordination between central and local levels. Targets set for 2026 should be implemented with clear division of responsibilities to achieve concrete results.

In addition, he urged expanded international cooperation with strategic partners to mobilize financial and technical support, while continuing to strengthen the organizational capacity, professionalism, and innovative thinking of officials in line with the “Three Builds” direction, aiming to achieve key objectives in 2026.

KPL