Context and objectives
The Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes of UNCTAD is currently preparing the Lao PDR Vulnerability Profile. In the context of the graduation proces of Lao PDR, the Division has had a long-standing, strong and productive relationship collaborating with the Government in preparing the General Assembly-mandated Vulnerability Profile for Lao PDR and looks forward to accompany the country throughout its graduation process.
UNCTAD would like to host an online (WebEx) short technical working meeting with a few officials in the Government of Lao PDR on the revised Vulnerability Profile. This will create an opportunity for UNCTAD to discuss with representatives of Lao PDR some of the emerging findings from the Vulnerability Profile before it is submitted to the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) for wider circulation.
This will be a small working (technical) meeting between a few UNCTAD staff that have been working on the Vulnerability Profile and some officials in the Government of Lao PDR on 19 November 2020.
The vulnerability profile casts light on the extent to which pre-qualification from graduation is synonymous with genuine progress on structural economic transformation, a necessary condition for fairness in the decision to reclassify a country. A sound assessment of structural progress (or lack thereof) will not only guide the Committee for Development Policy’s graduation assessment for the country, it will also increase the awareness of key relevant issues in Lao PDR and what to do to address them in the future.
Participation and organizational arrangements
The working meeting will be attended by relevant stakeholders in Lao PDR’s Government and represent different sectoral actors among others, identified by the Government.
The working meeting will be held on 19 November 2020 from 18:00 to 19:30 hrs, Vientiane time (12:00 to 13:30 hrs, Geneva time) under virtual modalities, via WebEx.
The working language of the meeting/ webinar will be English.
