Vientiane, 30 June 2023 - Mrs. Martine Thérer presented her credentials today to H.E Mr. Phoxay Khaykhamphithoune, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR, as the new Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Lao PDR.

As UNDP Resident Representative, Mrs. Thérer will be leading the Lao Country Office for the upcoming four years. Working together with other UN agencies, she will ensure that UNDP is well positioned to deliver its promises, as it enters the second year of implementing its Country Programme Document (CPD), while supporting the country towards the realization of its Ninth National Socio-Economic Development Plan (9^th NSEDP), and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“As the country progresses towards graduating from Least Developed Country Status, there remains several complex development challenges to be solved,” said Mrs. Thérer. “However, with the strong partnership we have with the Government, I am confident that we can support the country in achieving its development priorities.”

Mrs. Thérer, a national of Belgium is an accomplished senior manager. She brings in more than twenty years of experience of the United Nations system at Headquarters and in the field. She has a strong background in strategic planning, including United Nations development planning and programming frameworks, processes, and tools at country level, with a focus on forging partnerships around joint programmes with a broad range of stakeholders. 

Prior to her appointment, Mrs. Thérer served as the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Morocco. She has also had senior roles for the agency in Tunisia, Haiti, Niger, at UNDP Headquarters, and at the office of the United Nations Secretary-General, at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Mrs. Thérer holds a master’s degree in literature from the Université de Liege, and a Master’s Degree in Journalism and Communication from the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. 

UNDP has been working alongside the Lao Government for more than four decades. The key priorities of its current programme cycle are I) inclusive prosperity, including a focus on providing access to economic opportunities for marginalized communities, and supporting women empowerment and gender equality, ii) governance and rule of law, including enlarging access to basic and accountable services to the people, and iii) environment, climate change and resilience, including helping institutions and communities to better cope with and recover from the shocks caused by climate change and other natural disasters. UNDP also supports the efforts of the Government to remove unexploded ordnance (UXO), which still constitute a threat to people’s wellbeing and a major obstacle to achieving sustainable development in Lao PDR.

For more information, please contact:

Aksonethip Somvorachit, Communications Analyst, UNDP Lao PDR

Email: aksonethip.somvorachit@undp.org

Telephone: 021 267 778

Mobile: 020 5502 1550