Laos' former deputy foreign minister Khempheng Pholsena became the first female vice-president of the Asian Development Bank in early 2004, in charge of finance and administration. In this part two of an exclusive interview with VOA, she discusses ADB’s aid programs for Laos for the fiscal year 2005-06.
She also says she is proud to be the first female senior official of the ADB and to have made name for her country and Lao women.
Ms. Khempheng graduated from the Moscow Energy Institute as an engineer in 1971 and from the Foreign Trade Academy of Moscow from 1983. She held many high-level positions in the Lao government during her service from 1988 to 2004. Fluent in French, Russian, and English, she was in charge of negotiating with foreign institutions, countries, and international agencies with the aim of furthering international economic relations and cooperation.
Listen to our Overseas Lao report for detail.