WTO members hold first focused session on landlocked developing countries

The first focused session on landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) of the Committee on Trade and Development on 14 November focused on the unique challenges that these economies face, and that limit their fuller integration into the multilateral trading system. Members called for improvements to LLDCs’ trade infrastructure and digital connectivity and for further trade facilitation to support the integration of these economies into global markets.

The Chair of the session, Ambassador Ram Prasad Subedi of Nepal, noted: “This focused session responds to the mandate of our Ministers at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.” The MC13 Ministerial Declaration instructed the Committee to hold focused sessions to assess trade-related challenges identified for the fuller integration of LLDCs into the multilateral trading system.

Ambassador Athaliah Lesiba Molokomme of Botswana, coordinator of the LLDC Group, stated: “For LLDCs, being landlocked is more than just a geographical reality. It is a persistent barrier that shapes our economic landscapes and affects the daily lives of our people.”

In a video message, the Under Secretary-General for the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UNOHRLLS), Rabab Fatima, welcomed the focused session, saying: “This is an important first step for the WTO in implementing the new Programme of Action for LLDCs for the Decade 2024–2034, which is expected to be adopted by the United Nations soon.”

Several members, including Armenia, Barbados (on behalf of the WTO Organisation of African, African, Caribbean and Pacific group), Chad, Nepal and Paraguay, called for additional focus on the structural constraints affecting LLDCs. They also advocated for more equitable access to international trade systems for LLDCs, to foster their economic resilience and their progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

In an informal discussion on “Strengthening Trade Infrastructure in LLDCs” that followed the session, calls were made to invest in transport infrastructure to improve efficiency, reduce the costs of doing business and enhance LLDCs’ trade competitiveness. The importance of digital trade infrastructure to advance development objectives was underlined, as well as the need to invest further in renewable energy infrastructure, to support sustainable trade growth. The panel included LLDCs (the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia and Paraguay), regional bodies (the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and the East African Community) and donor governments (the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office).

There are currently 32 LLDCs, of which 26 are WTO members and five are observers to the WTO.