1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the Export-Import Bank of Korea, and the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH), held the 3rd Korea-Lao People's Democratic Republic ODA (official development assistance) Policy Dialogue in a virtual format on December 3. The ROK and Lao head delegates to the meeting were Director-General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Cho Yeong-moo and Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Kikeo Chanthaboury, respectively.

2. The Lao PDR is one of Korea’s 24 priority partner countries in the field of development cooperation and the recipient of Korea’s 7th-largest ODA, while Korea is the 2nd-largest donor country to the Lao PDR.

3. During the Dialogue, the two countries discussed development cooperation policies, development cooperation in response to COVID-19, the progress and plans regarding the development cooperation projects in the form of grants and concessional loans, and issues concerning specific projects.

° In particular, the Lao PDR extended appreciation to the Korean government for its assistance on response to COVID-19, introduced the main content of the 9^th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP, 2021-2025) that will be implemented from 2021, and asked the Korean government to continue providing ODA and support in capability-building to help the country overcome difficulties triggered by COVID-19 and achieve sustainable development.

° The two countries agreed to actively seek out development cooperation projects, which can contribute to smooth implementation of the 9^th NSEDP as well as to the economic and social development of the Lao PDR, through the ODA Policy Dialogue and other local, regular consultative mechanisms.

4. The Lao PDR is one of the major partners for the New Southern Policy, a main foreign policy of the Korean government. The 3^rd ODA Policy Dialogue, held in 2020 marking the 25^th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, is seen to have contributed to the implementation of the New Southern Policy and the promotion of the Korea-Lao PDR relations by intensifying bilateral development cooperation.