UN mission assessed preparations for conference on landlocked countries
On February 28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan held a briefing dedicated to the results of the first UN assessment mission in preparation for LLDC-3, headed by UN Under-Secretary-General, High Representative for the Least Developed, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island States, Rabab Fatima.
The event was attended by heads and representatives of relevant ministries and departments, specialized UN agencies, and local media.
The results of the first UN assessment mission in preparation for the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC-3), scheduled to be held in Turkmenistan in August of this year, were announced.
Rabab Fatima noted the importance of this international event, which takes place once every ten years, and emphasized the need for further coordination of actions in preparation for LLDC-3.
An exchange of views took place on the timely implementation of preparatory and protocol-organizational measures aimed at holding the International Conference at a high level, including the preparation of draft Final and other documents, the organization of information support for LLDC-3 and technical equipment of the venues for the upcoming events, the press service of the Turkmen Foreign Ministry reported.
Transit and transport are of great importance for countries that do not have access to the sea due to their geographical location, due to which their dependence on foreign trade is about 45% of GDP compared to an average of 42%. The high cost of trade depends on the shortcomings in the transport infrastructure - the remote location of ports and the inflated price for transit due to long distances and the lack of effective mechanisms for full participation in regional and global trade.
To activate transport links between landlocked countries, first of all, it is necessary to close the "physical" problems of transport infrastructure and use all its modes in the process, which, in turn, will activate and expand regional and international contacts between countries.
In Central Asia, as an actively developing region, certain progress has been achieved in this regard today - numerous transit and transport corridors have been created, where the Central Asian states act as logistics hubs. Secondly, improving regulatory procedures and documentation, as well as creating a systemic infrastructure for organizing profitable transit for countries that do not have access to the sea.
To carry out transit, countries need to ratify and implement the relevant international conventions and regional agreements. One of the important ones is the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, which regulates border procedures, including at the regional level. Large-scale digitalization of the transport sector and investments are also necessary.
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