At the Ninth Round Table Meeting in Vientiane in November 2006, the Government of Lao PDR (GoL) and 22 partner countries and organizations signed the Vientiane Declaration on Aid Effectiveness - a localized version of the Paris Declaration to which Lao PDR is signatory. Since November we are happy to inform that the Philippines and Thailand have also signed the Declaration.
Between February and May 2007, the Government of Lao PDR and Development Partners prepared the Country Action Plan (CAP) to accompany the Vientiane Declaration. The CAP was prepared in a participatory manner with the involvement of 9 different government agencies and 16 different development partners in the drafting of the plan, and the full endorsement of all signatories.
The preparation of the CAP coincided with the first Paris Declaration Monitoring Survey (OECD DAC) conducted in Lao PDR. The findings from the OECD DAC Survey have provided important input into the baseline information for the CAP targets. The next OECD DAC Survey is scheduled for 2008.
Similar to the Paris Declaration, the Vientiane Declaration aims to improve the effectiveness of aid by focusing reforms in five areas:
• Increased country Ownership over policy and plan development, implementation and aid coordination
• Better Alignment of Development Partner's support to national policies and plans, and increased support to and use of national systems
• Harmonization and Simplification of Development Partner's procedures and activities
• Managing for Results in order to ensure effective use of resources
• Implementation is a responsibility of all signatories, and Government and Development Partners will be Mutually Accountable for reporting on progress
The CAP will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis, with findings shared with the broader government and development community at the meetings of the Round Table Process.
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