China launches grain assistance program in Laos

China will donate 930 tons of rice and 120 tons of canned fish to more than 130,000 students at 1,400-plus primary schools across Laos' eight provinces, according to the launch ceremony of China's grain assistance program held in Vientiane, capital of Laos, on Nov 22. 

As the first Global Development Initiative (GDI) project in Laos, China will carry out the program with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) through the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund. 

In his speech, Xiang Fangqiang, counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Laos, expounded on the connotation, significance and progress of the GDI, and emphasized that the initiative embodies a distinct people-centered concept and is a vivid practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind. 

The GDI focuses on deepening international development cooperation, helping to implement the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and addressing the most pressing problems faced by developing countries, Xiang noted. 

The initiative is an open and inclusive global public good, he said, adding that China, together with the UN and other multilateral institutions, would continue to support Laos' sustainable growth and livelihood security through the Global Development Promotion Center network and other channels, and contribute to global development with joint efforts. 

At the ceremony, Phout Simmalavong, minister of education and sports of Laos, Jan Delbaere, the WFP's representative in Laos, voiced appreciation for the China-proposed GDI and thanked the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund for their support in Lao education and poverty reduction. 

They introduced the achievements of assistance programs launched by China and other major partners and the efforts made by the WFP to promote Lao food security, and expressed their expectation of continued support from China under the framework of the GDI, and for more achievements in poverty relief, education and other livelihood undertakings in Laos with the help of UN agencies.