Geneva:The National Assembly (NA) Vice President Vilayvong Bouddakham presented recommendations from the NA Standing Committee during the 2nd Ordinary Session of the 10th National Assembly held on October 5. These recommendations emphasized the need for enhanced efforts to achieve the country’s economic goals for 2026.
Key measures proposed included maintaining macroeconomic stability, improving revenue collection, and mobilizing financial resources for national development. The government was advised to strengthen monetary policy, encourage the use of the Lao kip, ensure foreign exchange earnings from exports are integrated into the banking system, and closely monitor fuel and commodity prices to control living costs.
To improve revenue collection, focus was placed on areas underperforming against approved concession agreements, particularly land leases, mineral resources, and mining-related fees. Additionally, the government was encouraged to utilize available funding, including 13.8 trillion kip in Official Development Assistance, to meet national development targets.
In terms of infrastructure and natural resources, the recommendations called for faster repair of roads, irrigation systems, and other public infrastructure affected by recent disasters. The NA Standing Committee also emphasized stricter management of mining operations, completion of evaluations and action plans for Category C and C+ mining projects, and a shift towards more domestic processing of minerals rather than exporting raw materials.
Regarding agriculture, authorities were urged to adopt short-term crop production measures to address shortfalls in rice production due to recent disruptions.
The recommendations extended to education, healthcare, and social development, focusing on reducing school dropout rates through non-formal education and vocational training, updating labor skill standards, restoring damaged schools and health facilities, ensuring adequate medicine supplies, and improving maternal and child nutrition.
Additional suggestions included accelerating UXO clearance in agricultural and development areas, reinforcing rural development and poverty reduction programs, and updating poverty and development criteria to align with international standards. Lastly, drug control measures were highlighted, with authorities urged to enforce the newly adopted list of prohibited narcotics and controlled substances to combat drug-related issues.
