On the morning of October 10, 2025, in Vientiane Capital, the Lao Disaster Preparedness Partnership (LDPP) Quarterly Meeting on Coordination Mechanism and Tripartite Cooperation was officially held. This meeting was honored by the participation of representatives from three sectors: the government, Lao civil society organizations, and the business sector. They gathered to review the progress of past work implementation, as well as to discuss and set the direction for future plans to enhance the country's disaster response capacity more effectively.
The ceremony began with the official opening remarks by Mr. Vongkham Phanthanouvong, Director General of the Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MLSW). He emphasized the importance and necessity of multi-stakeholder cooperation, especially the coordination between the government, civil society organizations, and the private sector, which is the cornerstone of building a strong network to ensure that disaster preparedness and response can be carried out in a timely, comprehensive, and effective manner, in line with the government's policy guidelines.
The meeting was also honored by the presence of Mr. Amphone Souvannalath, Vice President of the Lao CSO Coordinating Committees (LCCC), who represented the civil society sector. He highlighted the active role of civil society organizations in reaching local communities and implementing activities at the grassroots level, and affirmed their readiness to continue working closely with all parties. Meanwhile, Mr. Chalermchai Thiengtham, representing the Executive Committee of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, spoke of the business sector's commitment to contributing to disaster response efforts as part of its social responsibility.
During the meeting, participants listened to several important presentations that demonstrated the concrete progress of past operations. The main topics included:
• A report on the progress of the LDPP mechanism's implementation under the Terms of Reference (TOR): This provided a comprehensive overview of the operations carried out under the tripartite joint agreement.
• A presentation of the results of project activities implemented in the first 9 months of 2025: This highlighted the successes and achievements, along with a transparent summary of the project's budget expenditure.
• A report on the results of the assessment and data collection on risks and preparedness in 02 target villages: This data serves as a crucial foundation for planning and organizing activities that are tailored to the actual needs of the communities.
Following the presentations, the meeting proceeded with a lively discussion forum to draw lessons learned and exchange views on the conveniences and challenges encountered in the implementation of the work. Participants from all sectors jointly proposed solutions and measures to improve the coordination mechanism to be more flexible and efficient.
Towards the end, the meeting presented the action plan for future activities, which sets out the next steps and goals to be collectively pursued in the next quarter. The meeting was concluded with a summary and closing remarks by the chairs, who expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the active contributions of all parties. They also called on all sides to continue the tradition of solidarity and close cooperation to build a safer Laos that can withstand future natural disasters.