For three years (fiscal 1999--2001), the Fund supported capacity building for economic policymakers in Laos, chiefly staff members of the National Economic Research Institute (NERI), through the project Strengthening Economic and Policy Research in Laos. The present project is developing an economic forecasting model as a tool for policy dialogue within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, with a view to further development, as well as capacity building in policy analysis and formulation in new fields of application, of NERI, which has become the hub of economic policymaking in Laos.
This year, a workshop on macroeconomics, which is essential for economic forecasting, was held in Laos January 20--24, 2003, with the aim of transferring the experience of Malaysia and Vietnam, which are ahead of Laos in economic development. Participating were 25 economic policymakers and researchers, mainly from NERI but also from the central bank, the Ministry of Finance, the State Planning Committee, the National Statistical Centre, and other government agencies. In the second and third years it is planned to support surveys, research, and training in Laos and Malaysia for smaller groups of policymakers, with the objective of creating an economic forecasting model in Laos.