“The NIU Division is the anchor division within the Ministry of Industry and Commerce for a sector wide approach on trade in the Lao PDR and is responsible for coordinating trade-related assistance to the country. Based in the Department of Planning and Cooperation , the NIU has been implementing the Lao Competitiveness and Trade (LCT) multi-donor trust Fund, the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Tier II Project and others project. All projects support the Lao Government’s National Socio-economic Development Plan (NSEDP) in its aims to reduce poverty and sustain economic development by facilitating trade and cross-border movement of goods, and by increasing capacity of the Government to undertake specific tasks related to regional and global economic integration”