1st Quarter January-March 2012 Report: Laos-US International and ASEAN Integration (LUNA) Project

The project's objectives are to support the effective implementation of the U.S.-Lao PDR Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), facilitate Laos' accession to the WTO, and support the country's fulfillment of its commitments to the AEC. The LUNA Project provides demand-driven support to six line ministries, including the Ministries of Industry and Commerce, Justice, Agriculture and Forestry, Health, Finance, and Science and Technology, as well as the National Assembly and the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Technical assistance includes legal and economic policy analysis, comments on draft laws and regulations, training, and support for workshops and seminars, publications, study missions, translations, research, and equipment purchases. Project operations and support continue to operate effectively, with no new information to report over the last six months. The Project Steering Committee met on February 28, 2012, to review and approve LUNA's Work Plan for 2012. The meeting was co-chaired by Mme. Khemmani Pholsena, Vice Minister of Industry and Commerce, and Michal Satin, Director of the General Development Office from the USAID/RDMA in Bangkok. The LUNA Project has been actively engaged in various activities to support the implementation of the BTA, WTO, and AEC. These activities include analytical frameworks and general trade-capacity building, transparency and dispute settlement, Sanitary-Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), trade facilitation and management, customs and the Lao National Single Window linked to the ASEAN Single Window, intellectual property rights, trade in services, and public-private policy dialogue on trade policy. In January-March 2012, LUNA supported the maintenance and improvement of the Foreign Trade Policy Department's (FTPD) communication and public outreach capabilities. The FTPD's webpage and internet capacity were fully operational and updated continuously by FTPD staff, serving as the main instrument for the MOIC to provide information on trade policy issues to the public and trade communities. LUNA also provided two computers to improve FTPD's communications capabilities. Additionally, LUNA co-organized with GIZ a major "High-Level Workshop on Laos toward the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015" on January 23-24, 2012, in Vientiane with around 112 participants. LUNA supported the publication of 2,000 copies of a brochure on "Lao and ASEAN Economic Community 2015" and 2,000 copies of a FTPD-ASEAN Division notebook for distribution at this and future workshops. The LUNA Project has also been actively engaged in supporting the development of a Law on Making Legislation. LUNA experts met regularly with the core Ministry of Justice-led drafting team, including the Vice-Minister of Justice and senior officials from the Ministry of Justice, National Assembly, and Prime Minister's Office. During the week of February 6-10, 2012, LUNA supported technical working meetings by the Ministry of Justice-led drafting team to develop a full Lao language first draft of the Law.