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Conference Title: [JICA Hokuriku 30th Anniversary] -Lecture/exchange meeting with Lao Ambassador to Japan for new relationship between Laos and Hokuriku
Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2022, 15:00-17:00
Organized by JICA Hokuriku and JETRO Kanazawa
Place: Ishikawa International Center (Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture)
Main Participants
speaker
Mr. Phongsamut Anlawang, Ambassador of Laos to Japan
Katsuichi Iwakami, Director, Asia and Oceania Division, Overseas Research Department, JETRO
Fumio Igawa, Tomihan International Business Cooperative (former Laotian Cooperation Volunteer)
Mr. Haruhiko Nakayama, Komatsu East Rotary Club
Sadamitsu Hisaike, President, Nishino Corporation
Yurina Ishihara, Representative Director, NPO Support for Woman’s Happiness
JICA Southeast Asia and Pacific Division Hayakazu Yoshida
JICA Private Sector Cooperation Division, Koichi Motomura, Miki Takabayashi
Yoshiharu Yoneyama, Director, JICA Hokuriku Center (Moderator)
Borabts Puttapong, JICA Social Infrastructure Department (Japanese and Lao interpreter)
Participants (face-to-face only)
About 50 people from the private sector, universities, NPOs, experts, former or prospective cooperative members, media, etc.
background
Ambassador Phonsamut, who assumed the position of Lao Ambassador to Japan in April 2021, has been traveling around Japan to deliver lectures and other events to promote the attractiveness of Laos and to deepen friendly and trusting relationships with organizations involved with Laos.
This time, in consultation with the Embassy of Laos in Japan, we invited H.E. Mr. Phonsamut, Ambassador of Laos to Japan, to Ishikawa Prefecture as an event commemorating the 30th anniversary of JICA Hokuriku, and held a lecture/interchange meeting jointly with JETRO Kanazawa.
Contents
Lecture “Attractiveness of Laos and Expectations for Hokuriku”: Ambassador Phonsamut, Lao Ambassador to Japan
The presentation introduced the political economy and culture of Laos, as well as the country’s attractiveness in terms of investment and tourism. He also introduced the deep friendship between Japan and Laos over the years, including the fact that Laos was the first country in the world to dispatch Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) and that Japan has been the top donor to Laos since 1991.
Lecture “Business Potential in Laos”: Katsuichi Iwakami, Director, Asia and Oceania Division, Overseas Research Department, JETRO
He explained the general situation of Laos’ economy and trade, the situation of Japanese companies in Laos, and the merits and risks of doing business in Laos. He emphasized the importance of prior analysis from the perspectives of “people,” “goods,” “money,” and “information” in order to succeed in business in Laos.
Forum “Toward a New Relationship between Laos and Hokuriku”
The speakers reviewed the past ties between Laos and Hokuriku, and presented case studies and proposals for a new relationship in the future.
First, the moderator introduced the fact that the first Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) from Ishikawa Prefecture were sent to Laos in the 1960s, and explained that the longstanding activities of the JOCV had built a relationship of trust between the two countries. Mr. Fumio Igawa (from Toyama Prefecture), who worked as a JOCV in Shen Khouang Province in the early 2000s, then presented the situation in rural Laos 20 years ago, and the content and significance of the activities in which the JOCV blended in with the Laotian people and worked from the same perspective. The Rotary Club of Komatsu East (Ishikawa Prefecture), which has been supporting early childhood education in Laos, also introduced their efforts over the past 15 years.
In the area of new relations between Laos and Hokuriku, Mr. Sadamitsu Hisaike, President of Nishino Komuten (Fukui Prefecture), introduced his company’s efforts, which began with international cooperation and expanded into business and the acceptance of trainees. The company plans to use the acceptance of nursing care workers to solve issues facing Fukui Prefecture in the future. Yurina Ishihara, representative director of the NPO “Support for Woman’s Happiness (SWH),” also introduced a new form of international cooperation and welfare, in which welfare facilities in Laos and other regions collaborate to produce products that transcend national borders. In addition, JICA’s Southeast Asia and Pacific Division introduced cooperation between Takayama and Luang Prabang in the field of World Heritage conservation and cooperation between Kagawa and Sheng Kwang through returned technical interns as a new form of cooperation with local actors. The Private Sector Cooperation Division introduced a new form of cooperation between private companies and cooperative groups, along with actual examples.
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Based on the above presentations, Mr. Yoneyama, Director of JICA Hokuriku Center, who served as the moderator, concluded the session by expressing his hope for a new form of cooperation and exchange in the future: “We hope to create not only government-to-government assistance but also a win-win cooperative relationship linking the Japanese regions and Laos through cooperation and collaboration among various local actors. The report was summarized as follows.
Impressions of participants, etc.
In a questionnaire to the participants, they commented that their impressions of Laos, with which they had been unfamiliar, had changed significantly, and that their desire to visit the country and engage in specific activities there had increased.
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