Press Releases
Signing and Exchange of Notes concerning support for geospatial data platform for the enhancement of national disaster resilience to the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Grant aid “the Economic and Social Development Programme”)
October 22, 2025
On October 22, in Vientiane, the capital of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, H.E. Mr. KOIZUMI Tsutomu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), and H.E Mrs. Phongsamouth ANLAVAN, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, signed and exchanged notes for "the Economic and Social Development Programme" (grant provision up to 649 million yen).
- Approximately 70% of the Lao PDR's geographic area is covered by mountains and hills, and when natural disasters such as floods and landslides occur, they have serious impacts on people’s lives and social infrastructure. However, many of the topographic maps currently in use were created between the 1950s and 2000s, making it difficult to plan disaster response and infrastructure development, and posing a significant constraint on stable socio-economic development. The programme aims to support the creation of topographic maps by utilizing surveying equipment from Japanese manufacturers and imagery from Japanese observation satellites. The programme also seeks to establish a geospatial data platform to facilitate information sharing among the relevant ministries and government organizations in the Lao PDR.
- In 2025, marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Lao PDR, the bilateral relationship was elevated to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”. This programme is designed to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of the people of the Lao PDR from natural disaster while supporting the country’s efforts to graduate from Least Developed County status and its entry into an upper-middle income country status in the future. These goals align with the steady implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
(Reference) Basic Data on the Lao People's Democratic Republic
The country covers 240,000 square kilometers (about the same size as Japan's main island of Honshu) with a population of approximately 7.77 million people, and its gross national income (GNI) per capita is US$2,000 (2024, World Bank).