Vientiane: Lao govt seeks WTO membership by 2010

"Our intention is to be part of the wto by 2010," the Director General of the Ministry of Planning and Cooperation's Department of International Cooperation, Somchith Inthamith, said on Tuesday.

"Whether we succeed or not depends on our preparations. We have to thoroughly work through all the issues involved and take the right course of action, otherwise it may have a negative impact on our economy."

Somchith spoke with Vientiane Times during a meeting in Vientiane between the European Commission and a Lao working group regarding trade and cooperation. The meeting was chaired by the Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Laos , Dr Friedrich Hamburger.

The European Union (EU) provides funding to train officials and for other preparations necessary for Laos to join the wto.

The EU committed 33 million euro to Laos from 2007 to 2010 at the fourth Lao-EU Cooperation Commission meeting in April 2007. Thirteen percent of the funds will go to trade related assistance, including supporting Laos in its preparations to join the wto.

Laos and the EU will conduct two rounds of bilateral talks this year, said Somchith. At yesterday's meeting they discussed the possibility of tax concessions on a range of goods on offer in the services sector.

"Now, we are focusing on human resources development and preparing laws necessary for wto membership," he said.

He added that trade is related to the abilities of the various sectors to facilitate wto accession. The monitoring of goods is also important, to ensure the quality of products.

Somchith said that Laos is aiming to integrate its economy with larger economies around the world, so production needs to speed up.

Products need to be of high quality and available at reasonable prices, to compete with other countries, he emphasised.

"We have to recognise our advantages first," he said. "For example, if we know that we cannot produce eggs to compete with those imported from Thailand , we have to find a product that gives us an advantage, such as quail eggs."

The EU has reaffirmed its intention to grant trade privileges to Laos , allowing goods to enter EU markets without attracting taxes. But officials said the number of Lao products currently entering EU markets is small.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Lao exports to the EU market in 2006-2007 were worth 154 million euro ($235 million).

This week, the EU held two meetings with the Lao government to discuss their cooperation efforts. The first meeting, held on Monday, was to discuss areas of institution building and administrative reform, governance and human rights.

At the meeting, the government outlined their efforts to combat bird flu, and socio-economic development achievements.

By Somsack Pongkhao

Vientiane Times

Publication Date: 06-03-2008