Overview
Since 1983 the Lao PDR has been participating in the Round Table Process, with the support from the United Nations Development Programme. From 1983 until 1997, the process was focused on the tri-annual Round Table Meetings which were held in Geneva . During this period, six RTMs were held. In 1999, following a global review of the Round Table Meeting, the Government of Lao PDR, UNDP and the international organisations agreed to turn the RTM into a continuing dynamic process held in-country, rather than just a one-off meeting every three years. In 2000, the Government of the Lao PDR launched the “Round Table Process” and in this year the 7 th Round Table Meeting was held in Vientiane , Lao PDR. The Round Table Process focuses on strengthening national and sectoral aid coordination mechanisms and systems–the actual Round Table Meetings themselves being one component of a comprehensive approach to aid effectiveness.
The main meeting is the Round Table Meeting held every three years, with the 9 th RTM held in November 2006. The RTMs tend to go for two days and involve formal statements and pledges of financial support for the coming years from donors. These meetings are chaired by the Deputy Prime-Minister and are attended by Ministers and Heads of Agencies from head-quarters. In between, there are smaller annual consultation meetings. To date, these meetings have not included sessions for formal statements or pledges. Rather, their purpose is to discuss and build consensus around some of the opportunities and challenges that have occurred over the past year and upcoming priorities.
The below sections provide information about the previous 7 th , 8 th and 9 th Round Table Meetings held in the Lao PDR and the annual consultation meetings. Information about the Round Table Meetings held in Geneva (RTM 1-6) can be obtained upon request from DIC .
Round Table Implementation Meeting, 8 November 2007
The RTIM was held on 8 November in Vientiane and was opened by the Prime Minister, Mr. Bouasone Bouphavanh. The meeting's agenda focused on national and sectoral progress on implementing the NSEDP, progress towards implementing the Vientiane Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the future role of the Sector Working Groups, and emerging issues and challenges associated with natural resource based growth.
A new feature of this meeting was the introduction of a series of in depth preparatory meetings which were, in most cases, led by the Sector Working Groups. The following preparatory meetings were held: Health; Education; Public Finance Management; aid effectiveness in the Transport Sector; Agriculture and Rural Development; and the Development Implications of Natural Resource Based Growth which featured key note speaker Dr Joseph Stiglitz. The findings of these meetings were then presented for discussion at the RTIM and were also included in the background document.
The report from the meeting can be downloaded here.
Ninth Round Table Meeting, November 2006
The 9th Round Table Meeting (RTM) for the Lao PDR was held on the 28 th and 29 th of November and was attended by representatives from 36 countries, the European Commission, four International Financial Institutions, most resident and non-resident UN Agencies, and 22 International NGOs; as well as the Government of the Lao PDR and the Lao private sector.
The Meeting was opened by the Prime Minister of the Lao PDR, Mr. Bouasone Bouphavanh and Dr. Thonglun Sisoulith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, chaired the Meeting. The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Hafiz Pasha, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific.
The Government made a series of presentations including: the country's Sixth Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2006-2010) and its implementation in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015; the goal of graduating from Least Developed Country Status by 2020; good governance; and measures to promote private sector and trade development.
During this high level meeting, the Vientiane Declaration which implements the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in the Lao PDR, was signed by the Government and 22 partner countries and organizations.
Round Table Information Meeting (RTIM), January 2006
Leading up to the ninth RTM there was a RTIM in January 2006. This RTIM lasted for two days, with the first day devoted to macro-economic discussions, and the second day focusing on the governance sector. At this meeting the Government shared the Sixth Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) with donors for the first time.
Round Table Information Meeting, June 2005
This meeting involved briefings by the relevant government agencies on the macro-economic situation, trends in governance, NGPES costing and integration into the NSEDP, and aid harmonisation and alignment. At the meeting the Government also announced that it would establish eight sector working groups that would be led by the Government and would build on the donor working groups that were established in December 2003.
Eighth Round Table Meeting, September 2003
The 8th Round Table Meeting took place in September 2003. At the meeting, the Government tabled its National Poverty Eradication Programme (NPEP), which has since been renamed the National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy .
Seventh Round Table Meeting, November 2000
During the Seventh RTM, the National Steering Committee and Technical Working Group was established. Leading up to this meeting, in-depth dialogue on agriculture and forestry, rural development, health, education and roads sectors, and macro-economic policy took place.
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