Participants gather for the first project steering committee meeting on Wednesday.

KOICA provides US$4.4 million to improve livestock product safety management

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Laos Office, in partnership with the Hankyong National University Consortium, held the first Project Steering Committee meeting in Vientiane on July 22 to move forward the ‘Project for Improvement of Livestock Product Safety Management System in Laos’.
The project steering committee is the highest decision-making body responsible for deliberating and identifying the strategic directions, major policies, and operational matters of the project.
It is chaired by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment, Ms Chanthakhone Boualaphanh, and co-chaired by the Country Director of KOICA Laos, Mr Sungsoo Oh. The meeting was attended by committee members representing organisations from Laos and the Republic of Korea.
According to the KOICA Laos Office, the ‘Project for Improvement of Livestock Product Safety Management System in Laos’ is a KOICA country partnership project taking place from 2024 to 2029, with a total project cost of US$4,400,000.
It aims to strengthen the safety management system across the entire livestock production cycle by improving institutional frameworks for feed, farms, and slaughterhouses; enhancing capacity for the quality analysis of feed and livestock products; and providing hygiene management training for farm and slaughterhouse workers.
The project will provide reagents and equipment for analytical laboratories, dispatch analysis experts for training, and organise invitational training programmes in the Republic of Korea.
Moving forward, KOICA intends to convene the project steering committee on a regular basis to ensure transparent updates on the project’s progress and to continuously foster its partnership with the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
As the first Project Steering Committee meeting since the official start of the project in November 2025, Wednesday’s meeting included a report on detailed project plans, a review of progress to date, key deliverables, the presentation of action plans for the second half of 2026 through the first half of 2027, and discussions on strategies to achieve future project goals.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment, Ms Chanthakhone, said “Livestock safety management is the foundation of the health of the Lao people and the development of the livestock industry. The Lao government will actively provide support to ensure that the cooperation between our two countries leads to tangible results through this project steering committee.”
Country Director of KOICA Laos, Mr Sungsoo Oh, said “This first project steering committee meeting holds great significance as it marks the official launch of the bilateral cooperation system. We will cooperate closely throughout the entire project period to ensure the safe consumption of livestock products for the Lao people.”

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update July 23, 2026)