ICMM - International Council on Mining & Metals

NEWS

28.02.11
ICMM co-hosts multi-stakeholder workshop in Lao PDR with government

On 24 February 150 participants came together for a successful workshop on Mining Partnerships for Development which was also supported by MMG, Phu Bia, Rio Tinto and the World Bank Group.

The objective of this multi-stakeholder workshop, entitled “Utilising mining and mineral resources to foster the sustainable development of the Lao PDR”, was to provide a participatory forum for discussion of the findings of ICMM’s Lao country case study, which applies the Mining: Partnerships for Development toolkit to Lao. The workshop gathered representatives from the National Assembly, provincial and national government agencies, INGOs, Ambassadors, development agencies, mining companies including 12 Chinese companies. The objectives were to debate the evidence on mining’s economic and social contribution to the Lao PDR and explore opportunities for collaboration between companies, government, development agencies and civil society organizations to enhance mining’s economic and social contribution.  The evidence and partnership opportunities were drawn from ICMM’s Lao country case study which applied the Mining Partnerships for Development Toolkit in Lao PDR. 

After an opening address by the Vice Minister of Energy and Mines and welcoming remarks from the World Bank, ICMM member company MMG, and Phu Bia, there followed a presentation by the National Economic Research Institute, a government agency in the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Next Professor Wang, Renmin University, Beijing University presented the evidence on mining’s contribution to social development, also offering reflections on how poverty has been reduced in China over the past 40 years. ICMM’s Kathryn McPhail discussed the imperative of responsible business investment and Olle Ostensson summarized the challenges identified. 

Following presentations on partnership activities underway in Lao PDR, all participants were asked to contribute in writing what their organization can do to act on the 6 partnership themes.  The workshop’s simultaneous translation into English, Lao and Mandarin supported the very active engagement by all participants.  6 Team leaders from the government, World Bank, INGOs and bilateral agencies then assembled the feedback.  Lastly, workshop participants ranked the 6 themes in order of priority: Mining and Poverty reduction (58); Mining and Revenue management (57); Mining and Social Investment (44); Mining and Regional Development planning (32); Mining and Dispute resolution (20) and Mining and Local content (15).

In closing the workshop, the Vice Minister of Energy and Mines concluded: ‘We have achieved our objectives’. This was the first study of large scale mining undertaken in Lao PDR and it highlights a number of important implications for the country that would need to be addressed in informing policy.