Background

Lao PDR met the eligibility criteria for graduation from least developed country (LDC) status for the first time during the 2018 triennial review of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP). The CDP has concluded that if the current progress is maintained, Lao PDR is likely to be recommended for graduation from the LDC category in 2024.

Objectives

The National Workshop will discuss the sources and nature of socioeconomic vulnerabilities in Lao PDR. It will provide an opportunity for the exchange of views on the ways and means for building resilience through fostering productive capacities and structural economic transformation. The discussions will be based on the draft Vulnerability Profile of Lao PDR, which was prepared by UNCTAD, as mandated by the United Nations General Assembly. The Vulnerability Profile of Lao PDR is one of the documents to be submitted to the CDP in support of its deliberations on whether or not to recommend Lao PDR for graduation during its 2021 triennial review.

As part of the workshop, a training session for selected statisticians will be held on UNCTAD's Productive Capacities Index (PCI).

The training will take place on 10 October 2019. The PCI is a tool that aims to assist national stakeholders in the evidence-based policy-making processes both during and beyond the graduation of Lao PDR from the LDC category.

The training is intended to expose participants to the latest data collection, organization, aggregation methodologies and techniques.

The specific objectives of the workshop are to:

• Review and enrich the draft Vulnerability Profile of Lao PDR; and 
• Train statistical experts on how best to use data and UNCTAD’s PCI in policy-making processes.