HE Mr. Leo Faber, the new Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Lao PDR presented today his Letters of Credence to the President of Lao PDR, HE Bounnhang Vorachith at the Presidential Palace in Vientiane. HE Mr. Faber is the first Ambassador of the European Union residing in Vientiane after the Delegation has become a fully-fledged Diplomatic Mission on 1 September 2016.

The EU Delegation to Lao PDR is part of the European External Action Service, which is composed of EU officials as well as Diplomats from EU Member States. HE Mr Faber is originally coming from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in Luxembourg where he served as Deputy Secretary General.  He has been posted previously as a Luxembourg Diplomat to the Permanent Mission to the UN in New-York, to Beijing and to Hanoi as Chargé d'Affaires where he had been in charge of development cooperation in Vietnam and Laos.

The upgrade of the EU Mission to Laos is an excellent opportunity to renew the EU commitments to engage further with Laos on all aspects of modern diplomacy, including political dialogue, development cooperation, trade, environment, culture as well as global and multilateral issues.   

"The EU and the Member States have since long been engaged in Development Cooperation with Laos, and will continue to do so in order to achieve a high degree of development that is sustainable, equitable, and respectful of human rights. We will maintain a regular and constructive dialogue on political, economic and social issues with the Government because we believe that exchanges of views on areas of our mutual interests can create mutual understanding," said Mr Faber.

The European Union Delegation to Lao PDR was opened in Vientiane in 2003 and since then relations between two sides have been improving, covering many areas and reaching a new era this month.

The European Union is one of Laos' biggest development partners in terms of grant aid for development cooperation and humanitarian assistance. The programme of the European Union for Laos 2014-2020 (EUR 207 million) focuses on nutrition, education and governance, while also tackling issues such as UXO decontamination, gender equality and climate change. Starting in 2016, European partners (EU, EU countries and Switzerland) are coordinating more closely through the European Joint Programming (2016-2020), which sets out a common vision, priorities, approach, division of labour and planned spending. Taken together, the EU and EU Member States are the 4th biggest development donor in Laos, committing around EUR 70 million annually.

While the European Union is a reliable development partner to the Lao PDR, it is also the first trading bloc and the first investor in the world representing great opportunities for Laos and the Region. The experience that the European Union has gained in almost 60 years of regional integration, is unparalleled and constitutes a valuable asset that it is always willing to share with its partners in order to promote mutual understanding, peace and stability.