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H.E. Mr Ounethouang KHAOPHANH
Deputy Minister, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Laos

Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It's my great honor and pleasure to kindly have been invited to attend the Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum 2022, which is being held in Hong Kong, a beautiful Special Administrative Region of China.

On behalf of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lao PDR, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Chinese Government as well as the Government and people of Hong Kong for the excellent arrangements make for this important event and the warmest welcome extended to my delegations.

As the forum is set with a theme of promoting cultural exchange, it would be a great opportunity for us to exchange experiences and lessons learned on cultural development in this forum. May I take this opportunity to briefly share with Excellencies, Distinguished delegates that Culture has played an important role in the process of national social and economic development. The development of a community cannot be successful if one neglects one own value culture. Culture is a fundamental instrument for establishing and maintaining a lasting friendly relationship. Other than that, Culture can be more meaningful in day-to-day life and cannot be separated from a human being. The culture sector is related to economic opportunity and offered the opportunity to create jobs and foster a connection and respect for development.

Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Lao PDR has three World Heritage sites namely: the town of Luang Prabang, Vat Phu Temple in Champasack Province, and Plain of Jars in Xiengkhouang Province. Those sites are attractive places for internal and international visitors.

The Lao government recognizes the importance of culture as a force for social integration and national identity displayed in education and socio-economic life. The Lao government also has constantly sought to nurture and develop diverse cultural traditions of multi-ethnic people which contribute to boosting tourism development and promotion more effectively in order to bring a concrete benefit toward poverty reduction among ethnic groups within the country.

On the other hand, our government has attached great importance to ensuring the cultural survival of heritage and protecting the serenity and beauty of those unique places. Therefore, cultural regulations need to be made and addressed the following concerns:

  • How can the essential part of the culture in material and spiriting tourism, and heritage that is aligned with its traditional arts and cultural practices, be preserved for future generations?
  • How can cultural heritage be promoted in a sustainable way?
  • How can we manage the number of visitors to national cultural heritage sites to ensure the sound protection of those heritage sites?
  • How can we keep and maintain the traditional, cultural, social, and economic patterns which create the heritage resources of the country?

Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We, the Lao PDR highly appreciate China's initiative of Asia Cultural Cooperation because each of our countries has a rich of uniqueness and colorful cultural attractions that share so many cultural similarities. I believe that we can jointly promote and integrate our cultural heritage for mutual benefit.

I am confident that the forum today will be productive, and fruitful. It will be a significant platform for information sharing on cultural cooperation among Asian countries.

Once again, I wish Excellencies Ministers and all Distinguished delegates a full of happiness, good health, and success and wish today's event success in all aspects.

Thank you.