U.S. Ambassador Dr. Peter M. Haymond announced additional funding of nearly $2 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in support of the Lao PDR in response to the global spread of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19.  Ambassador Haymond made the announcement as part of his opening remarks for a U.S.-sponsored tabletop exercise to help Lao officials and public health workers prepare for next steps in responding to the worldwide pandemic.  Dr. Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh, Director General of Department of Communicable Diseases Control (DCDC), representatives of twelve Lao ministries, as well as leaders of United Nations organizations in Laos, joined the tabletop exercise on March 13, sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) and the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), in close partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO).  

Continuing U.S. support to the government of the Lao PDR in its mission to strengthen the country’s rule of law, the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), launched the new three-year Legal Aid Support project at a ceremony in Vientiane on January 24. Minister of Justice Xaysi Santivong and U.S. Ambassador to the Lao PDR Rena Bitter witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that marks the beginning of the $3.67 million program, which is funded by USAID and the McConnell Foundation, a U.S.-based organization, and implemented by The Asia Foundation and the Ministry of Justice.