Mr. President,

Madam Executive Director,

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,

1. The Lao PDR would like to express its sincere appreciation to UNFPA for the comprehensive preparation of the new Country Programme Document (CPD) for the Lao PDR for 2027–2031.

2. We highly value our longstanding and close partnership with UNFPA, spanning for five decades. We particularly appreciate UNFPA’s support in strengthening national capacities and its continued commitment to addressing the needs of vulnerable communities.

3. The new Programme comes at an important demographic momentum for the Lao PDR. At the same time, fiscal constraints, climate vulnerabilities and gaps in access to essential services continue to present challenges. Addressing these issues requires sustained investment in young people, health, education, skills and empowerment.

4. We welcome the Programme’s vision to leverage the demographic transition to strengthen resilience and accelerate transformative results, with particular attention to the demographic dividend, diversity, disparities and digitalization, maternal health and integrated sexual and reproductive health, youth empowerment, demographic intelligence, administrative data and civil registration and vital statistics systems

5. My delegation welcomes the CPD’s alignment with priorities of our National Socio-Economic Development Plan, relevant population and demographic policies, and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2027–2031. We also appreciate UNFPA’s extensive consultations with the government, civil society, youth, vulnerable groups, development partners and the wider UN system during the programme’s development process.

6. In conclusion, the Lao PDR reaffirms its full support for the new UNFPA CPD for the Lao PDR, and looks forward to its endorsement by the Executive Board and its full and effective implementation. We remain committed to further strengthening our partnership with UNFPA and the development partner to advance the CPD and Sustainable Development, and to ensure that every person, particularly young people and vulnerable community, can benefit from inclusive and sustainable development.

I thank you.