VIENTIANE, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The Lao government is working to promote rural development by creating stable livelihoods, expanding sustainable income opportunities, and improving rural infrastructure and public services as part of its efforts to reduce poverty.
Under its draft National Agenda on Rural Development and Poverty Reduction, the government aims to lift more than 100,000 households out of poverty, reduce the national poverty rate from 14.78 percent to below 10 percent, eliminate poverty in more than 1,000 villages, and remove over 25 districts from the country's poverty list, Lao Economic Daily reported on Wednesday.
Key measures include expanding employment opportunities, strengthening social protection, improving transport and public infrastructure, allocating land to support sustainable livelihoods, enhancing grassroots governance, maintaining peace and public security, attracting greater domestic and foreign investment in rural development, and strengthening the legal and institutional framework for poverty reduction. ■
