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Laos
Long-standing partners in development cooperation

Germany and Laos have maintained diplomatic relations since 1958. Several thousand Laotians studied in former East Germany. Many Laotian Germany-alumni now hold influential positions in politics and business, and are continuing to foster German-Laotian relations. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), KfW supports Laos as part of financial cooperation (FC) there with several ongoing programmes to reduce poverty in rural areas, in resource conservation/biodiversity and to enable vocational training and the development of the financial sector. With the new approach to bilateral development cooperation, the BMZ has decided as part of the BMZ 2030 reform strategy to transfer bilateral cooperation with Laos to multilateral, European and non-government tools.
During the rainy season many villages are practically cut off for months, and some are without any transport connections whatsoever. Poverty remains widespread, as the affected regions are barely able to harness their economic potential.
On behalf of the BMZ, KfW is supporting Laos in extending the network of roads and tracks as well as building bridges. People living there can now reach their markets, schools, health units and other facilities more quickly and safely all year round on the several hundred kilometres of roads that have been built. The new regional mobility increases income, contributes to decreasing levels of poverty and allows children and young people, including girls, to attend school.
Project information - Road construction (PDF, 200 KB, non-accessible)
A further focal area of FC activity is helping to reduce deforestation in the country, thereby conserving biodiversity. Today, three fifths of Laos is still covered in forest, making it the most heavily forested country in Southeast Asia alongside Myanmar. By combating the illegal logging and timber trading, settling land disputes, and through villages in project areas committing to protect the forest in exchange for compensation payments, valuable CO2 sinks in the forests are protected, which in turn helps to mitigate climate change.
Project information - Village Forest Management Project (PDF, 171 KB, non-accessible)
Project information - Support to Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT FC) (PDF, 160 KB, non-accessible)
An economy cannot develop sustainably and on a large scale without a qualified workforce. In vocational training in particular, the training and teaching curriculum in Laos is still poorly aligned with the actual needs of companies. This is why KfW, on behalf of the BMZ, is helping to promote closer cooperation between vocational schools and business in Laos.
Another focus of FC activity is support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Support for the banking sector should improve MSMEs’ access to investment loans, thereby encouraging their economic expansion. This helps to eliminate a key investment bottleneck and thus contributes directly to job creation in rural areas too.
Project information - Vocational Education (PDF, 106 KB, non-accessible)
Further information
Local office
KfW Office Vientiane
Director KfW Office: Jan Wiegelmann
Lao-German House
Watnak Nyai Road, House 247, P.O. Box 9233
Vientiane
Lao P.D.R.
Phone: +856 21 35 36 05-152
Fax: +856 21 35 37 46