Laos - Japan grants US$14m for Lao projects

The Japanese government yesterday signed agreements to provide financial support for two Lao government development projects, at a total cost of more than US$14.2 million.

One grant of over US$11.2 million will be used for the clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in areas near main roads. The second is US$3 million for scholarships for government officials under the JDS scheme.

“The promise of these two grants was made by the Japanese prime minister to Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong when he visited Japan in March this year,” Japanese Ambassador to Laos Ms Junko Yokota said at the signing ceremony.

Part of the US$11.2 million for UXO clearance will go towards the purchase of Japanese-made specialised equipment, motor vehicles and computers.

“I'm sure this support will help to accelerate UXO clearance in Laos,” Ms Yokota said.

Japan has contributed to this effort since 1999, through various channels including direct contributions to the Lao National UXO Programme (UXO Lao), through Japanese NGOs and the Japan-Asean Integration Fund. The total amount so far provided is US$26 million.

“The second grant of US$3 million is intended for human resource development and will be used to send young Lao government officials to higher education institutions in Japan,” Ms Yokota said. She confirmed that later this year about 20 officials will go to Japan to study for development, education, law, agriculture and engineering degrees.

The JDS scholarship programme began in 1999. In the first 10 years of the scheme, nearly 220 Lao officials studied for master's degrees in Japan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Thongloun Sisoulith endorsed the planned use of the grants, saying the two projects supported by the Japanese government will greatly assist in human resource development and the reduction of UXO contamination in Laos.

UXO hazards have existed in Laos for 37 years, since the Indochina War. This has been detrimental to both socio-economic development and the country's growth in general for almost four decades.

Since 1996, almost 30,000 hectares of UXO-contaminated land have been cleared but Thongloun said 87,000 square kilometres are still affected, posing great danger to local people.

According to the National Regulatory Authority, hundreds of people in Laos are killed or injured by UXO accidents each year.

Between 1964 and 1973 a total of 580,000 bombing missions were conducted over Laos, which averages out at one mission every eight minutes around the clock for the nine years.

It is estimated that out of the 2 million tonnes of bombs dropped, including 288 million cluster bombs, almost 30 percent failed to detonate.

Khonesavanh Latsaphao

Vientiane Times

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