The Lao government and the World Bank signed a financing agreement for the Second Trade Development Facility (TDF-2) project. According to the World bank, Improving competitiveness and connectivity is vital for the sustainable and inclusive growth of Laos, and trade plays a critical role in it.
The agreement in relation to trade and integration priorities was signed by Deputy Minister of Finance, Santiphab Phomvihane, and Country Manager for the World Bank to the Lao PDR, Keiko Miwa. The project aims to support the implementation of the government’s trade and integration priorities outlined in the 2012 Diagnostic Trade Integration Study Roadmap, and in particular to contribute to improved competitiveness and diversification, focusing outside the natural resource sectors.
The project is also a key part of continuing efforts to improve the efficiency of development assistance, by pooling resources from the World Bank, Australia, the European Union, Germany and Ireland into a single programme. This results in increased efficiency of implementation, reduced transactions costs and greater impact on the ground.
LNTV Lao News broadcast on 29/03/2013
