KOICA President’s visit aims to enhance Laos-Korea cooperation

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is preparing an integrated recovery programme for Attapeu province and will continue to support Laos in many other areas.
This support was discussed when KOICA President Ms Lee Mikyung met with Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith during her official visit to Laos last week.
Mr Thongloun expressed appreciation for KOICA and the Korean government’s timely and dedicated support for the people of Sanamxay district in Attapeu province after they suffered huge losses in last year’s catastrophic flood.
Ms Lee said KOICA is preparing an integrated recovery programme for Attapeu province which will be rolled out from this year.
KOICA is fruitfully implementing rural development programmes in Vientiane and Savannakhet provinces.
As the Lao government requested, from 2020 to 2024 (over five years), KOICA will launch the second phase of the rural development programme in three provinces of southern Laos, namely Champassak, Xekong and Saravan, according to the KOICA Laos Office.
The KOICA Laos Office also reported that to build co-prosperous development and cooperation between Korea and Asean countries, the Korean government is strengthening its partnership with Asean countries under the New Southern Policy.
This policy aims to cultivate relations with Asean and India as key partners in the southern region and to build a mutually prosperous people-centered community.
In line with this policy, KOICA will also develop a cooperation area for Laos through the ODA programme. This will include inspiring higher education for better future initiatives for nurturing talent in Laos, and digital partnership for inclusive development by utilising ICT for various issues in the fields of agriculture, health and education.
Prime Minister Thongloun agreed that ICT was important for Laos’ development and asked KOICA for cooperation in areas where Korea has comparative strengths, such as e-government, higher education, rural development, small and medium-sized enterprises, green growth, and tourism.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update May 20, 2019)