On 12 June 2026, UXO Lao had the honor of welcoming Mr. Khamxay Xiayingyang, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, and his delegation on a visit to UXO Lao’s operational site in Napeng Village, Boualapha District. Khammouane Province is one of six provinces receiving support from the U.S. Government through Tetra Tech.

The purpose of the visit was to monitor and encourage the implementation of activities addressing the issue of unexploded ordnance, which remains one of the Government’s priority objectives. In particular, these activities are linked to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 18, “Lives Safe from UXO,” under which the Government has focused its efforts on addressing the UXO problem in order to protect the lives of the people and support the socio-economic development of the Lao PDR . At the same time, UXO clearance efforts are integrated into the implementation of the 10th National Socio-Economic Development Plan and the 6th Labour and Social Welfare Development Plan for the period 2026–2030.

We express our sincere appreciation to the leadership of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare for honoring UXO Lao with this visit to observe its operations. We also extend our gratitude to the United States Government for its continued support of UXO Lao’s operations in Khammouane Province and the five other supported provinces – Luang Prabang, Huaphan, Savannakhet, Salavan, and Attapeu.