Building partnerships for sustainable development: case study of Laos, the BRI, and the SDGs

This study examines sustainable development cooperation and the effectiveness of sustainable development partnerships in supporting national development in meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study focuses on SDG 17, “Building Partnerships for Sustainable Development” and takes the Lao Democratic People’s Republic (Laos) as its case study. The study assesses Laos’s socio-economic condition, development trajectory and SDGs. It evaluates Laos’s development partnerships with China and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and wider development diplomacy. The study adopts a political economy perspective, drawing in global major power competition. The paper argues that development partnerships are pivotal to success in achieving national and global development goals. Laos holds the ASEAN Chair through 2024, whilst experiencing severe economic challenges domestically. Moving between these two domains, Laos will seek to achieve balance and even-handedness between regional and global interests. Laos’s long-standing development partnership with China and the BRI brings tangible results. However, the study concludes that greater diversification in building partnerships for development will provide additional support to Laos’s development strategy.