Vientiane – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Lao PDR Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MoLSW) have convened the second National Project Advisory Committee Meeting under IOM’s regional labor migration project: Poverty Reduction through Safe Migration, Skills Development and Enhanced Job Placement in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Thailand (PROMISE.)

The meeting, in the Lao PDR capital, Vientiane,  was designed to review project implementation of the past year and the action plan for 2020. It brought together 37 Lao PDR government officials, development partners, and private sector representatives.

The meeting was opened by Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) Deputy Director General for Cooperation Christian Engler. He highlighted the importance of partnerships and expressed his appreciation of the “remarkable results” PROMISE has achieved over the past year. The four-year programme is funded by SDC.

MoLSW Deputy Director General of the Skills Development Division Vanny Keoxayyavong thanked delegates for their participation and welcomed the outcomes of the meeting.  “We cannot prohibit migration. If we do,  (the migrants) may use illegal channels and that will put them in vulnerable situations,” she said.

IOM Monitoring and Evaluation and Reporting Officer Giulia Micozzi emphasized the importance of safe migration. “PROMISE aims to present correct information for people considering migration. We need to ensure that they are well-informed when making decisions,” she said.

Now in its third year of implementation, PROMISE aims to strengthen the linkages between labour migration to Thailand and poverty reduction in the region, with a particular focus on engaging employers and training institutions in skills development, facilitating ethical recruitment and protection, and improving migrant workers’ access to safe migration and decent employment opportunities.

For more information please contact Karen Ho at IOM Vientiane. Tel. + 856 (0)21 267 734. Email: iomlaopdr@iom.int