L-R: Thongloun Sisoulith, President of Laos ; HRH Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg;
Credit: Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue
The working visit of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke and Luxembourg's Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Franz Fayot, to Laos kicked off on Monday 5 December 2022 with various bilateral meetings.
The programme for the first two days of this trip, which is taking place from 5 to 8 December 2022, in the context of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations and development cooperation between Luxembourg and Laos, included bilateral meetings, the signing of four development cooperation protocols between the two countries and visits to a number of Luxembourg development cooperation projects in Laos.
On the first day of the trip, Grand Duke Henri and Minister Fayot had an interview with the President of Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith. The discussions focused in particular on bilateral relations and the regional situation. At the end of this meeting, and in the presence of Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the President of Laos, Minister Fayot signed two bilateral protocols with Dr Khamjane Vongphosy, Minister of Planning and Investment of Laos, as well as two trilateral protocols with Dr Vongphosy and Jean-François Cuénod, representing the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. These protocols form the basis of the interventions of the 5th Indicative Cooperation Programme (ICP), which, with a budget of €95 million, will support the following four areas over the next five years (2023-2027): health and nutrition, integrated local development, vocational and technical training, and the promotion of the rule of law, access to justice and good governance. The European Union (EU) and Switzerland will contribute additionally to the financing of the ICP programmes.
Minister Fayot also had a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Laos, Phankham Viphavanh, during which both parties welcomed the friendly ties that have united Luxembourg and Laos for 25 years, as well as the achievements of cooperation projects in development during this time.
In the evening, Grand Duke Henri and Minister Fayot took part in a banquet at the invitation of the President of Laos.
On Tuesday 6 December 2022, the second day of this working visit, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Minister Fayot visited several projects supported by Luxembourg's development cooperation programme in the capital Vientiane.
They went first to the Institut Pasteur du Laos, where they met with the Minister of Health of Laos, Bounfeng Phoummalaysith. Supported by the Grand Duchy, the Institut Pasteur du Laos aims to promote research and diagnosis on emerging infectious diseases and vector-borne diseases, as well as to strengthen the training, education and skills of young researchers. To this end, the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), under the mandate of the Luxembourg Government, created the Lao-Luxembourg Laboratory within the Institut Pasteur du Laos in 2012 and has since successfully trained a number of Laos scientists.
The Grand Duke and Minister Fayot then visited the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the National University of Laos, with which the University of Luxembourg has been cooperating since 2013 to strengthen the rule of law through teaching and legal training. In the presence of the Minister of Education and Sports of Laos, Phout Simmalavong, Grand Duke Henri and Minister Fayot had the opportunity to speak with the students benefiting from this academic cooperation.
In the afternoon, there was a visit to the Lao-Luxembourg Heart Institute (ILLC) at the Mahosot Hospital. Built in 2004 by the Luxembourg non-governmental development organisation (NGDO) Aide au développement de la santé with the support of Luxembourg's development cooperation programme, the ILLC has become a reference clinic for Laos, which consists in promoting specialised medicine in the treatment of heart disease, especially for the most vulnerable populations.
In the evening, Grand Duke Henri and Minister Fayot, in the presence of the President of Laos, took part in a reception hosted by Luxembourg for the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
