EU Ambassador and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry confirmed shared green objectives
Today, H.E Ina Marciulionyte, EU ambassador to the Lao PDR, paid a courtesy visit to Mr. Phet Phomphiphak, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. Both sides discussed ongoing cooperation in areas of forestry and nutrition, and pondered on room for future engagement, notably in the coffee and wood processing sectors. They confirmed the clear convergence between the objectives of the Lao green growth strategy and of the EU Green Deal, which forms a solid basis for a stronger partnership in the future.
EU Ambassador took this opportunity to underscore EU’s readiness to expand its support to the sustainable development of the Lao forestry sector, which, if well managed, has a large potential for attracting responsible investments, job creation and increase domestic revenue. In that connection, EU Ambassador recalled the good progress made last year in the negotiations towards a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the EU and Lao PDR as part of EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade initiative, (FLEGT), despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has also played a pivotal role to improve the nutritional status nationwide. As co-chair of the National Nutrition Forum, EU Ambassador recalled that the EU stands ready to continue supporting the linkages between sustainable agriculture and better nutrition, a key pillar of the Government’s new agriculture strategy.
The EU emphasised the strong coordination with European partners in Lao PDR (France, Germany, Luxembourg, Hungary, and Switzerland) under the umbrella of the European Joint Programming, with a view to to better respond to the priorities charted out in the 9th National Social-economic Development Plan (NSEDP).
For more information about this Press Release please contact EU Delegation to Lao PDR at delegation-laos@eeas.europa.eu or 021 255575.
European Union:
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