On September 5, the first working group meeting of the "Environmental Protection Planning and Engineering Technical Assistance Project for Lao PDR" held in Vientiane, Laos, marking a concrete step in deepening environmental cooperation between China and Laos. Jointly hosted by the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center (FECO)/Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center (LMEC), Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) of China and Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Laos, the meeting focused on aligning project implementation plans, technical pathways and work timelines. Delegates from both sides engaged in in-depth discussions on key priorities including integrated water environment management, air pollution control systems and capacity building for Laos' environmental governance.

Dr. Li Xia, Deputy Director-General of FECO/LMEC, stressed that Chinese and Lao expert teams will strengthen communication mechanisms and leverage existing cooperation frameworks to address challenges in coordinating agricultural development and environmental governance. "We will maintain timely exchanges in field surveys, data analysis, demand matching and result evaluation to ensure the project meets Laos' actual development needs," Li noted.

Mr. Sounadeth SOUKCHALEUN, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Planning and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Laos, hailed the project as a "key driver" for upgrading Laos' environmental management policy system and enhancing its ecological governance capacity. "The Lao side will continue to cooperate sincerely with the Chinese team and maintain open communication to push for the smooth implementation of the project," he said.

During the work exchange session, the Chinese project expert team gave a detailed briefing on the overall implementation plan of the Technical Assistance Project, the formulation plan for the integrated water environment management plan, the methodology for developing an air pollution prevention and control system, and the overall arrangement of capacity-building activities. They also shared the content of the project’s first field survey, as well as the technical roadmap for water quality testing and atmospheric environment monitoring. Representatives from Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Laos and its Biotechnology and Ecology Institute (BEI) focused on sharing the current status of water and atmospheric environment management and monitoring in Laos, as well as their needs for capacity improvement. The two sides held in-depth discussions on other key issues.

Following in-depth exchanges, the two sides reached a consensus on establishing a closer coordination mechanism to jointly advance key tasks such as field research, technical demonstration, joint monitoring, and capacity building. Furthermore, the two parties will work together to ensure the Technical Assistance Project delivers tangible results, and make positive contributions to jointly building a high-standard, high-quality, and high-level China-Laos Community with a Shared Future.