老挝人民民主共和国跨境无纸化贸易就绪度评估更新报告

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the mostinclusiveintergovernmental platform in the Asia-Pacific region. The Commission promotescooperation amongits 53 member States** and 9 associate members in pursuit of solutionsto sustainable development The ESCAP secretariat supports inclusive, resilient and sustainable development inthe region bygenerating action-oriented knowledge, and by providing technical assistance and capacity-buildingservices in support of national development objectives, regionalagreements and the implementation of * The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expressionof any opinionwhatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legalstatus of any country, territory, city orarea or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its Update of the readiness assessment for cross-border paperlesstrade:Lao People’s Democratic Republic United Nations PublicationsTrade,Investmentand InnovationDivisionESCAP The opinions, figures,and estimates set forth in this publication are the responsibilityof the authors and should not necessarily be considered as reflecting the viewsofor The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication donot imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat ofthe United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city,or area, or This publication has been issued without formal editing. Acknowledgement This report was prepared byMr.Aloun Phonvisay, ESCAP consultant, under the directsupervisionof Mr.Tengfei Wang,Economic Affairs Officer,Trade Policy andFacilitation Section (TPFS), Trade, Investment and Innovation Division (TIID), ESCAP,andunderthe overallguidanceofMr.Yann Duval, Chief of TPFS, TIID, ESCAP. The report benefited from valuable inputs from various government agencies andprivate sector stakeholders through a national consultation workshop. In particular,thedraftreport waspresented tothe National Workshop on‘Advancing Cross-borderPaperless Trade in Lao PDR,’held on 5 February 2026 in Vientianefor feedback.Special appreciation is extended to Ms. KingsadonePhetdaoheuang, Director General Following the Workshop, constructive comments were received from the Ministry ofFinance (MOF), the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAF),andthe Bank ofthe Lao PDR (BOL).The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) played animportant role in coordinating with relevant stakeholders,in particular, together with Executive Summary The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is currently undertaking a macro-strategic transformation, evolving from a“land-locked”to a“land-linked”nation. Thistransition is a central pillar of the9thFive-Year National Socio-Economic DevelopmentPlan (NSEDP) 2021–2025, which emphasizes the effective utilization ofitsgeographic The National Trade and Transport Facilitation Roadmap 2025–2030 explicitly calls fora 50% reduction in the time required for formalities through the elimination ofunnecessary and duplicativeprocedures.Complementing this target, the Roadmapestablishes broader performance metrics for 2030, specifically aiming for a40% Such national strategiesprovide overarchingdirectionforthis report,which isintendedto serve as a practical reference for advancing cross-border paperless trade in LaoPDR. By providing a comprehensive analysis of current systems, identifying gaps, andoutlining actionable recommendations,the report aims to support the country in This study updates theReadiness Assessment for Cross-Border Paperless Trade inLao PDR,first conducted by ESCAP in 2022. The earlier assessment served as abaselinediagnostic,identifying key legal,technical,and institutional gaps that Since 2022, Lao PDR has made measurable progress in trade facilitation reform anddomestic digitalization. Legislative amendments, expanded deployment of digital tradesystems, andstrengthened institutional coordination have materially altered the The 2025 update therefore: •documents progress achieved since the 2022 baseline;•reassesses remaining legal, institutional, and technical barriers through an •evaluates the strategic benefitsfor Lao PDR’s potential accession to theFramework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia ImplementationStatus of Paperless and Cross-border Paperless Trade: Lao PDR has demonstrated a strong upward trajectory in trade facilitation, achievingan overall implementation rate of 75.27% by 2025, a significant increase driven byinvestmentsin“hard”and“soft”infrastructure.Tangible operational gains haveaccompanied these reform efforts. The2024 Time Release Study (TRS)indicates thatthe average time required for imports has fallen to3 hours and 19 minutes, a marked •Successes:Transparency measures have reached 100% implementation.Domestic paperless trade scores have accelerated to 74.07%, reflecting the •C