Laos, Myanmar share lessons on aid for trade
Laos, Myanmar share lessons on aid for trade
A Myanmar delegation led by Deputy Minister of Commerce Dr Pwint San has paid a study visit to Laos to share experiences on lessons learnt regarding the management and implementation of assistance provided through aid for trade.
The Foreign Aid Division (FAD) / National Implementation Unit (NIU) at the Planning and Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is responsible for coordinating trade-related assistance to the country.
During the study visit, discussions focused on the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) programme and participants identified solutions to problems commonly faced that affect aid effectiveness.
On Monday, the delegation visited Minister of Industry and Commerce Ms Khemmani Pholsena in Vientiane to discuss cooperation between the two countries before attending an exchange workshop on Tuesday to update each other about the Aid for Trade programme.
At the workshop, Deputy Director General of Planning and Cooperation Department Mr Phouvieng Phongsa said “the trade and private sector development programme has been growing significantly over the past few years.”
He said the first trade development facility, which ran from 2008 until March 2013, was succeeded by the second phase and commitments almost doubled from US$7.6 million to US$14 million.
Laos is also implementing Phase II of the EIF Tier-1 at the moment and this project will run until December 2015. The EIF Tier-2 was formulated internally. It has been approved and will run until December 2016.
“In addition, Laos just concluded the formulation of bilateral assistance packages from GIZ, USA and we expect further assistance from the Work Bank, SDC and others,” Mr Phouvieng said.
East Asia's rapid export led economic growth over the last few decades has led to a number of Lao PDR's neighbours graduating into middle income status. This export led growth once again highlighted the importance of trade as a means of securing economic growth for developing and least developed countries.
The Aid for Trade Initiative is a global recognition of the importance of trade in driving growth and aims to help developing countries overcome structural and capacity limitations that undermine their ability to maximise the benefits from trade opportunities and hence lay the basis for sustained growth.
Donors have been providing substantial amounts of aid to trade-related programmes for many years, but this has not necessarily been well coordinated, focused or attracted the level of financing necessary, according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
Laos, like many other less developed countries faces supply-side constraints that severely limit the country's ability to benefit from trade. Aid for Trade aims to help countries such as Laos address supply-side bottlenecks and boost their capacity to take advantage of expanded trade opportunities. More recently, the Aid for Trade agenda has expanded to include trade-related structural adjustment programmes and other trade related needs.
Dr Pwint San appreciated the lessons learnt and these will be used for supporting the process of preparing the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) as well as implementing other projects in the future.
vientiane times
