Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone receives JICA Volunteers’ courtesy call on December 10, 2024.

Laos and JICA “Tying, Connecting, Spinning”

The year 2025 marks the 70th anniversary of the Laos-Japan diplomatic relationship and the 60th anniversary of the inaugural dispatch of JICA Volunteers.

Ms Miyako Kobayashi, Chief Representative of JICA Laos Office.

In marking these significant milestones, JICA Laos Office is embracing the theme, “Tie, Connect, Spin” to symbolise this milestone year.
Drawing on the cultural heritage embodied in the stunning traditional textiles of Laos, the two nations are celebrating shared human resource development and co-creation efforts.
JICA hopes that human resources will be assets whose deployment continues to be a driving force that can open new doors of opportunity in this era.
Laos was the first country in the world to welcome Japan’s JICA Volunteers in 1965, and its 60th anniversary is being celebrated in 2025.
As such, we look anew at the ties between the two countries, considering the connotations of these words that evoke the heritage, skill and process of making beautiful traditional Lao textiles, and the examples that represent them.
Tying: from the past to the present
Over the years, JICA has supported Laos in a wide range of areas, including infrastructure, legislation, health, agriculture, education and forest conservation.
Infrastructure contributions commenced with the Kaoliao Water Treatment Plant, the first water treatment plant in Laos, in 1964.
Meanwhile, the Nam Ngum Dam, completed in 1971, has played an important role in supporting Laos’ development in the years since.
These contributions are reflected in the Lao philatelic and numismatic items. For example, the Pakse Bridge is a symbol reflected on the country’s 10,000 kip banknotes. The National Highway 13 Bridge, National Highway 9, and the Second Mekong Bridge are depicted on Lao postage stamps.
These are just some of the results of projects have been integrated into the daily lives of the Lao people and are enduring symbols of the friendship between Japan and Laos.
Connecting: Bridging Laos and Japan
JICA Volunteers and JICA scholarship students in Japan have long served as key links between Laos and Japan.
To date, a total of 1,094 Japanese civilians have been dispatched to Laos as members of JICA’s Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV).

Primary school students learn mathematics lessons from textbooks jointly developed with a Japanese textbook publisher.

Lao farmer as a technical intern trainee in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan.

The Lao Prime Minister and counterparts often say, “It is thanks to the members of the JICA Volunteer programmes that maternal and child health care, including the maternal and child health handbook, has become widespread in Laos. The members of the programme are the “treasures” of Japan and Laos,” whose contributions have been engraved in the hearts of those involved”. In addition, 660 Lao students have studied in Japan through JICA’s scholarship programme.
Currently, the Minister of Education and Sports, the Minister of Health, and the Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment are among those who have studied in Japan.
These people-to-people networks are the foundation for “connecting” the future of Laos and Japan, and for nation building in Laos.
Spinning: Creating New Value
Just as traditional Lao textiles weave beautiful cloth by spinning threads and yarns of different colors, JICA’s support brings together people and organisations (threads) to create new value (cloth). At its core is the philosophy of “co-creation,” in which JICA collaborates with international organisations, private companies, local governments, universities, NPOs, and NGOs to carry out a variety of activities.
Forest conservation efforts from 2015 to 2018 successfully helped Laos achieve its emission reduction targets. Laos is expected to receive up to US$45 million from the Green Climate Fund’s REDD (Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and Payment for Results programmes.
Meanwhile, math textbooks used in all primary schools throughout Laos were developed in collaboration with a private Japanese textbook company.
The Kagawa Farmers Cooperative has established an agricultural corporation in Xieng Khuang Province to support creation of agri-business by technical intern trainees after their return from Japan. This promotes the formation of production areas for agricultural products from Laos destined for export to Japan.
In this way, valuable opportunities are emerging in Laos through co-creation with various Japanese partners over a long period of time.
Laos is facing a severe fiscal situation, with external public debt currently sitting at 108 percent of GDP (IMF, 2024).
However, from a medium-to-long-term perspective, human resource development is increasingly important as a foundation for economic and social development.
Through their varying contributions, our shared values have been woven together to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
The many individuals and teams whose contributions have connected Laos and Japan, including JICA volunteers, students, counterparts, experts, and consultants, are celebrated as “treasures” for both Japan and Laos.
We believe that these “human resources” will continue to be a driving force, opening up the opportunities to strengthen cooperation and socio-economic development in each new era.

By Advertorial Desk
 (Latest UpdateJanuary 31, 2025)