Professor Toshiro Nishizawa joined a one-and-a-half hour dialogue with H.E. or His Excellency, Prime Minister of Lao PDR, Dr. Thongloun Sisoulith, followed by another one-hour session with H.E. Deputy Prime Minister/Finance Minister Mr. Somdy Douangdy. These dialogues were held on March 19, 2019 in the presence of H.E. Mr. Takeshi Hikihara, Ambassador of Japan to Lao PDR, to prepare for discussion at the mid-term review workshop on March 20 under Joint Policy Research and Dialogue Program for Fiscal Stabilization in Lao PDR.
In September 2016, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the Japan-Lao PDR Joint Development Cooperation Plan for the Sustainable Development of Lao PDR at the Japan-Lao PDR Summit Meeting with Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith. Prime Ministers expect that specific initiatives under the Cooperation Plan would contribute to the formulation of Lao PDR’s 9th Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2021-2025). As one of the initiatives under the Cooperation Plan, Joint Policy Research and Dialogue Program for Fiscal Stabilization in Lao PDR was launched in March 2018. The shared recognition of fiscal stabilization as a vital foundation for a steady implementation of the Cooperation Plan led to the launch of the Program. Four working groups are in place under the Program to cover respective issues with the implications for fiscal stabilization.
Prof. Nishizawa serves as the lead researcher of Working Group 1, which aims to assess fiscal risks, to identify challenges in fiscal and debt management, to indicate policy imperatives for fiscal stabilization and to suggest feasible policy options with a view to contributing to the formulation of the 9th Five-Year Plan.
