Centre for Development and Environment (CDE)

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Government of Lao PDR launches new digital data sharing platform for development planning

Vientiane, 30 November 2021

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, on behalf of the Government of the Lao PDR together with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation launched a new inter-ministerial online information platform. Developed through the Lao Knowledge for Development initiative, the platform releases official data and information from across thematic sectors at an unprecedented level of detail and thematic breadth. Through support by the Government of Switzerland and the Center for Development and Environment (CDE), the platform expands on the success of the Lao DECIDE info project and platform.

In his opening address, the Vice Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Mr. Kikeo Singnavong emphasized the need for better information exchange and integration among different Ministries: “Today’s challenges that our government has faced are increasingly complex. To meet such development challenges, close coordination and exchanges across thematic sectors are essential.”

The new K4D platform now provides easy access to a large range of development-relevant indicators from various thematic sectors, including statistics and maps on agricultural land use and forest management from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, on the socio-economic conditions from the Lao Bureau of Statistics, on environmental aspects from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, as well as, for instance on the energy sector from the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

At the launching ceremony, the Swiss Cooperation Office and Consular Agency in Laos’ Deputy Director of Cooperation, Mr. Christian Engler, explained that the project has evolved based on the needs for adequate tools for information exchange and integration across Ministries, and for improved analytical capacities in the different institutions. Mr. Engler said, “Recent technological advances in digital information management allowed for a renewed push to expand the breaths of information and the analytical tools offered on such a platform.”

The cross-sectoral development information platform links knowledge and decision-making, hence making development in Lao PDR even more sustainable and equitable.

Go to the platform