The National Growth Poverty Eradication Stratagy (NGPES) is central to the national development agenda. The NGPES encapsulates the essence of the Lao PDR’s approach towards achieving the goal set in 1996 by the 6th Party Congress, namely, exiting the group of LDCs by 2020.

The Lao PDR’s long-term national development goal is to be achieved through sustained equitable economic growth and social development, while safeguarding the country’s social, cultural, economic and political identity. The foundations for reaching this goal have been laid during the past 28 years of peace and development in

the country by:

At the 7th Roundtable meeting in November 2000, in Vientiane, the Government presented its strategic medium-term approach to poverty fighting, entitled “Fighting Poverty through Human Resource Development, Rural Development and People’s Participation”.
In March of 2001, the 7th Party Congress further refined the 2020 vision by specifying poverty reduction targets for 2005, 2010 and 2020 and highlighting industrialisation and modernisation priorities.

In June of 2001, the Prime Minister issued Instruction 010, identifying poverty criteria and clarifying the modalities for

the preparation of an operational poverty eradication programme, based on the concept developed by the Government in the strategic approach presented at RTM 7.

The Party Congress sets the guidelines and defines the way forward. Through the 5-year National Socio-economic Development Plans, the Government translates these into specific targets and objectives and identifies strategic programmes and priorities by sector to achieve
them. The Roundtable documents operationalise these plans according to resource mobilisation needs. While each document has its particular purpose, together they form a coherent set of references that will lead the Lao PDR to the achievement of the 2020 goal. The NGPES is the Government’s operational response to this over-arching objective. It builds on the medium-term strategic approach to poverty eradication1, making it part of an overall “growth with equity” framework.

Since the adoption of the New Economic Mechanism and the open-door policy in 1986, considerable progress has been achieved. Key social and economic indicators have steadily improved. Economic growth rates were strong throughout the nineties, despite the Asian financial crisis. Growth since the start of the new millennium has been steady in a stable macro-economic climate. The Lao PDR has become an active partner in ASEAN and other regional co-operation initiatives.

However, much more remains to be achieved to sustain economic growth and eradicate poverty in the long term. The task of eradicating poverty is far from being achieved. In developing a coherent framework for growth and development – as the basis for sustainable poverty eradication – the NGPES emphasises a certain number of essential linkages between the four main sectors, several supporting sectors, cross sector priorities and specific national programmes. A community-driven and access-oriented rural development strategy will be at the base of poor-district development. Enhanced macro-economic stabilisation, private sector development, including foreign investment, public management for improved governance, and resource development, will form the basis for a sustainable long-term growth environment.

Successful implementation of the NGPES is critical. Embedded in a long-term comprehensive growth and development framework, the NGPES focuses on successive efforts to achieve the goal of poverty eradication by 2020.