Embassy of India

Vientiane, Laos

Embassy of India

Vientiane

Press Release

Groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of classrooms at Kaleum Secondary School, Xekong Province , Lao  PDR

A groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of classrooms at Kaleum Secondary School, Xekong Province, Lao  PDR was held on 15 November 2022 in the presence of Ambassador of India Mr. Dinkar Asthana, Vice Governor of Xekong Province Mr. Khamsone Knoeyer, and Governor of Kaleum District Mr Orbula Onmalavong. Representatives of Sekong provincial authorities were also present. During the ceremony, books for the school library were also gifted.

2. The project consists of construction of a new building with three classrooms and toilets. After completion of the project, the Kaleum Second School will be able to enrol more students, to study in a more comfortable learning environment. 

3. The project has been financed through a grant assistance of about US$ 50,000 under the Government of India’s Quick Impact Project (QIP) scheme under Mekong-Ganga Cooperation. QIP are projects with short completion periods that directly benefit local communities, with results that are immediate and visible, which contribute significantly to economic and social development and improvement of public welfare, and give impetus to the existing good bilateral relations between India and Lao PDR.

4. India has taken up 11 Quick Impact Projects in Laos in the areas of health, education, drinking water facility, agriculture, across seven provinces of Laos at the grassroot level. Out of these, four projects have been completed and remaining seven projects are at an advanced stage of implementation.

5. India’s development cooperation portfolio in Lao PDR stretches across a broad spectrum—capacity building through the Indian Technical and Economic (ITEC) Programme and long-term scholarships for higher studies, projects under lines of credit or soft loans, joint Lao-India centres for Entrepreneurship development and English language training as well as heritage conservation projects, including restoration of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Vat Phou, by experts from the Archaeological Survey of India deputed under the ITEC Programme. 

6. Mr. KHAMSONE KNOEYER, Vice Governor of the Xekong Province in his remarks appreciated the provision of assistance for the implementation of the project in the education sector which is an important sector for socioeconomic development of the Lao PDR. 

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