UN General Assembly
2006

2010, with a view to achieving steady economic growth at an annual rate of 7.5 per cent. It is expected that by 2010, the slash and burn method of cultivation will definitely be terminated and that the problem of poor households will be basically solved. In addition, policies of support for small and medium enterprises will be implemented concurrently with the promotion and gradual expansion of industrialization, with a view to further improving the living conditions of our people and raising them to a higher level. Similarly, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic will further expand its relations and cooperation with the international community and will contribute actively to the regional integration process, particularly the integration of countries members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with the aim of enhancing the role of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic as an efficient partner of the countries in South-East Asia and other regions of the world. In closing, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic reiterates its determination to work in unison with the international community to create an environment