On April 3, 2025, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The agreement aims to enhance water resource management in Lao PDR, acknowledging the existing technical cooperation between IWMI and the DWR. It was signed by Mark Dubois, IWMI’s representative in Lao PDR and Southeast Asia, and Oudomsack Philavong, DWR director general.
“Signing the MoU with IWMI aligns the implementation of the Vision to 2040 and Vision to 2030 on water and water resources use and management,” Philavong said. He added that cooperation with IWMI would boost the sector’s effective contributions to socioeconomic development and address challenges in integrated water resources management, groundwater resources management and capacity development.
Dubois expressed his appreciation for DWR’s cooperation efforts and commitments to advancing the water sector in Lao PDR through research for development towards transformative futures for water security. “I hope, we, together, can impact water and climate resilient food production, for the livelihood of the Lao people, and socioeconomic development and growth in the Lao PDR,” Dubois said. He stressed that the MoU is not limited to the two parties’ cooperation, but also an opportunity to leverage partnerships with other stakeholders from the water management sector.
The MoU was formulated as a legal framework for joint research cooperation and research proposals in various areas of water resources monitoring, planning, and management, such as groundwater management, integrated water resources management, and water security and climate change. The two parties committed to promoting their research cooperation and results, and to providing technical assistance and capacity building to relevant officials, researchers, and authorities in the water and water resources management sector.
The signing ceremony drew attention to World Water Day and World Wetlands Day, two major events in 2025 singled out by the DWR to showcase institutional commitments of the two parties.
The institutional agreement was developed based on previous successful cooperation between the two parties, including projects on groundwater for irrigation, the development of the national groundwater profile, the formulation of the national groundwater management action plan, and training on groundwater resources management. Most recently, both parties collaborated on the formulation of the management plans for the Nam Ma and Nam Neun River Basins.
The MoU is expected to significantly contribute to the implementation of the country’s vision to 2040 and strategy to 2030 on water and water resources management. It is also aligned with the IWMI Strategy 2024–2030. It aims to ensure coherence between those frameworks and enhance impacts on water security and sustainable water resources management in the Lao PDR and the region. This MoU will also facilitate more sectoral cooperation with other stakeholders.
For more information, visit the IWMI in Lao PDR page.
