Embassy of India

Vientiane, Laos

Embassy of India
Vientiane
Press Release
Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for three Quick Impact Project

A signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] for implementation of three Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) , each with grant assistance from Government of India of US $ 50,000, took place on 11 August 2021, at the premises of Ministry of Education and Sports, Lao PDR. His Excellency Associate Professor Dr. Phout SIMMALAVONG, Minister of Education and Sports, Lao PDR presided over the occasion. Senior officials from Ministry of Education and Sports, Lao PDR and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lao PDR as well as the Indian Embassy in Vientiane were also present.

Out of the three projects, two projects are to construct primary school buildings in Kewxang Village (Phonthong district) and Nakheng Village (Chomphet district) Luang Prabang province. The third project is the construction of a 5-room dormitory at the Lao India Entrepreneurship Development Centre (LIEDC). The Lao-India Entrepreneurship Development Centre (LIEDC) was set up under India-ASEAN Cooperation Framework as part of Government of India’s support for initiatives of ASEAN Integration. LIEDC was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister of India in Vientiane on 27 November, 2004 and trains Lao entrepreneurs for setting up small and medium scale businesses. In its initial years, the LIEDC was fully supported by the Government of India, including by deputing faculty from the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad. The Government of India also donated some gadgets like computers, lap tops, projectors, in 2018 as support to the Centre. The new dormitory at LIEDC will be of immense support to any trainers who may require accommodation including trainers from India. At present, the LIEDC does not have this facility.

The grant assistance is being extended through Government of India’s Quick Impact Project (QIP) scheme under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation framework. The QIP scheme is geared towards delivering socio-economic benefits directly short gestation projects. One Quick Impact Project in agriculture, viz. Establishment of a fertilizer analysis laboratory at the Ministry of Agriculture of Lao PDR, has been completed and was formally handed over to the Government of Lao PDR on 12 April 2021. Two more Quick Impact Projects in agriculture, namely, goat raising and green cardamom cultivation, are due to be completed shortly.

H.E. Associate Professor Dr. Phout SIMMALAVONG thanked the Government of India for providing assistance for implementation of three Quick Impact Projects. He said, these projects will facilitate the learning conditions for the students.

The Ambassador observed that India and Lao PDR share long-standing religious, cultural, and people-to-people linkages going back long into history. Diplomatic relations between the countries, as modern sovereign nation-states, were established in 1956, and they have exchanged several high-level visits over the decades. This year, the LaoPDR and India are also celebrating 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries. The Ambassador highlighted the fact that relations between India and Lao PDR are based on respect for national sovereignty and mutual benefit in pursuit of development and upliftment of the peoples of the two countries. India’s development cooperation portfolio in Lao PDR stretches across a broad canvass—capacity building through Indian Technical and Economic (ITEC) Programme and long-term scholarships for higher studies, Quick Impact Projects for socio-economic development under grant assistance, projects under lines of credit or soft loans, joint Lao-India centres for English language training and entrepreneurship development as well as heritage conservation projects, including restoration of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the iconic Vat Phou (originally, a Shiva temple), by experts from the Archaeological Survey of India deputed under the ITEC Programme.

The Government of India continues to support and collaborate with various Ministries, Departments of the government of Lao PDR under different frameworks and mechanisms.

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11 August, 2021