A vendor rides on a bicycle with handphone-shaped balloons for sale along a street in Vientiane. Communist Laos, one of Asia's poorest countries, can achieve its goal of becoming a middle-income economy by 2020 if it pushes reforms and manages its natural resources wisely, according to the World Bank. (Photo: AFP)AFP
Communist Laos, one of Asia's poorest countries, can achieve its goal of becoming a middle-income economy by 2020 if it pushes reforms and manages its natural resources wisely, according to the World Bank.
Laos needs to promote "quality investments" in hydro-power, mining and industrial plantations and make sure the returns are used to benefit its people, said the World Bank's East Asia-Pacific vice president Jim Adams.
"The 2020 vision is achievable if Lao PDR (People's Democratic Republic) sustains and builds on its reforms," said Adams, referring to the country's goal of escaping Least Developed Country status by 2020.
Laos has fewer than six million people, about 80 per cent of whom work in agriculture. International development aid, mining, logging and tourism have made up the bulk of the 2.5-billion-dollar a year economy.
Speaking after a four-day visit, Adams congratulated Laos on progress in fighting poverty and boosting economic growth to over seven percent last year, the bank said in a statement.
But he cautioned that, in order for Laos to become a middle-income country with annual per capita GDP of 1,000 dollars, "it will be crucial for resources to be administered wisely and effectively and to boost the pace of reforms."
"Significant policy and implementation challenges" remain, he said.
Laos -- a landlocked country between China, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia -- needs to further improve governance, the management of natural resources and public finances, and to boost the private sector, he said.
With little industry, the Lao government's single biggest economic hope has been a World Bank-backed hydro-electric project, the Nam Theun II dam, which is expected to feed power to Thailand from 2009.
Adams, who visited the Nam Theun II site, expressed satisfaction on the project's implementation and emphasized that social and environmental safeguard measures need to keep pace with construction, said the bank.
"The transparent and sound management of natural resources and their use to improve social outcomes and protect environmental quality will be essential as government considers several new hydro and mining opportunities after the approval of the Nam Theun II project," said Adams.
"Developing the country in a socially and environmentally sustainable way and ensuring that revenues are used to benefit the people of Lao PDR will be key to ensuring that future generations will also be able to benefit from the country's natural resources."
Laos needs to promote "quality investments" in hydro-power, mining and industrial plantations and make sure the returns are used to benefit its people, said the World Bank's East Asia-Pacific vice president Jim Adams.
"The 2020 vision is achievable if Lao PDR (People's Democratic Republic) sustains and builds on its reforms," said Adams, referring to the country's goal of escaping Least Developed Country status by 2020.
Laos has fewer than six million people, about 80 per cent of whom work in agriculture. International development aid, mining, logging and tourism have made up the bulk of the 2.5-billion-dollar a year economy.
Speaking after a four-day visit, Adams congratulated Laos on progress in fighting poverty and boosting economic growth to over seven percent last year, the bank said in a statement.
But he cautioned that, in order for Laos to become a middle-income country with annual per capita GDP of 1,000 dollars, "it will be crucial for resources to be administered wisely and effectively and to boost the pace of reforms."
"Significant policy and implementation challenges" remain, he said.
Laos -- a landlocked country between China, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia -- needs to further improve governance, the management of natural resources and public finances, and to boost the private sector, he said.
With little industry, the Lao government's single biggest economic hope has been a World Bank-backed hydro-electric project, the Nam Theun II dam, which is expected to feed power to Thailand from 2009.
Adams, who visited the Nam Theun II site, expressed satisfaction on the project's implementation and emphasized that social and environmental safeguard measures need to keep pace with construction, said the bank.
"The transparent and sound management of natural resources and their use to improve social outcomes and protect environmental quality will be essential as government considers several new hydro and mining opportunities after the approval of the Nam Theun II project," said Adams.
"Developing the country in a socially and environmentally sustainable way and ensuring that revenues are used to benefit the people of Lao PDR will be key to ensuring that future generations will also be able to benefit from the country's natural resources."
1 comment:
Communist Laos, one of Asia's poorest countries, can achieve its goal of becoming a middle-income economy by 2020 if it pushes reforms and manages its natural resources wisely, according to the World Bank.
That is about what I forecast for
cambodia also except my number is
2016 instead of 2020.
Laos and Cambodia is practically
in the same boat, but with Loas
leading in Income per capita by
about 10-15%.
We both will reached the knee of
the exponential growth in 3-4 years
from now, and from that point on,
the change will be more apparent
toward the middle-income economy
by 2016, but we need to continue to
bring in jobs and strive to fight
corruptions at the same time.
Failure to do both will certainly
to hindering us from reaching that
goal.
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