The United Nations has launched a four day session-the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3) under the theme "Driving Progress Through Partnerships" in Turkmenistan's national resort, Awanza on Tuesday.
The LLDC3 conference aims at promoting global partnerships to accelerate inclusive and sustainable development in 32 landlocked developing countries worldwide including Ethiopia, home to over 500 million people.
The primary goal of the forum is to facilitate the exchange of experiences among parliamentarians and to develop recommendations for legislative bodies in landlocked developing countries. These recommendations focus on incorporating the priorities of the Program of Action into legislative agendas.
And the UN Secretary-General António Guterres has forwarded his views on international support to unlock the development potential of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) urging: "Geography should never define destiny."
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The following is his direct statement with full of promises of the supports of the UN for LLDCs in which he listed way outs and solutions to the significant challenges faced by landlocked nations.
"Yet for the 32 Landlocked Developing Countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America, geography too often limits development opportunities and entrenches inequality. Your countries face daunting challenges: steep barriers to trade, high transport costs, and limited access to global markets.
Many remain highly vulnerable - relying on raw commodity exports, exposed to volatile international prices and constrained by narrow economic bases. Meanwhile, debt burdens are rising to dangerous and unsustainable levels.
And one-third of LLDCs are grappling with vulnerability, insecurity, or conflict. Despite representing 7 per cent of the world's population, LLDCs account for just over one per cent of the global economy and trade - a stark example of deep inequalities that perpetuate marginalization.
These inequalities are not inevitable. They are the result of an unfair global economic and financial architecture unfit for the realities of today's interconnected world, compounded by systemic neglect, structural barriers - and in many cases, the legacy of a colonial past.
Recent shocks - from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate disasters, supply chain disruptions, conflicts and geopolitical tensions--have deepened the divide - pushing many LLDCs further away from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
But this conference is not about obstacles. It is about solutions.
It is about launching a new decade of ambition - through the Awaza Program of Action and its deliverables - and fully unlocking the development potential of landlocked developing countries.
The United Nations is proud to stand with you in this effort. Allow me to outline four essential priorities for collective action in the decade ahead.
First - we must accelerate structural transformation and economic diversification. LLDCs possess extraordinary potential - from natural resources to human capital. Yet this potential remains largely untapped - constrained by limited funding and market access.
We need bold and sustained investments in value-added industries, local innovation, and inclusive growth that reaches every community - across regions and generations.
Digital transformation must be central to this effort. It can help LLDCs overcome physical barriers and connect to global markets.
Digital tools can also deepen connectivity between communities - preserving indigenous knowledge, celebrating cultural heritage, and strengthening linguistic and educational exchanges across borders.
And with the right support, LLDCs can leverage Artificial Intelligence to strengthen early warning systems, expand precision farming, enable smart logistics - and tailor solutions in health, education, and public services.
But today, the digital divide is stark. Many people in LLDCs remain offline, with women and rural communities especially excluded. We must urgently close these gaps - by expanding digital infrastructure, boosting digital literacy, and ensuring affordable access for all.
The Global Digital Compact offers a roadmap. We need strong partnerships - particularly with the private sector - to scale innovation, transfer technologies, and connect some of the world's most isolated populations.
I will soon present a report on innovative voluntary financing options to support AI capacity-building in developing countries. We must also support LLDCs in harnessing e-commerce, mobile banking, and digital services to unlock jobs, boost revenues, and empower youth.
Second - we must strengthen trade, transit, and regional connectivity. Your countries are bound by deep human connections - shared languages, cultural heritage, and kinship ties - that transcend borders and offer a powerful foundation for regional cooperation.
Yet, fragmented logistics, border delays, inadequate transport infrastructure, high transport costs keep your countries on the margins of the global economy. We must address both the "hardware" and "software" of connectivity.
That means simplifying cross-border procedures, harmonizing standards, and strengthening legal frameworks for seamless trade and transit. It means investing in physical infrastructure - from resilient transport corridors to cross-border energy interconnections, expanded air connectivity and smart logistics platforms.
LLDCs must be fully integrated into regional and global value chains - transforming their role from suppliers of raw materials to creators of high-value products. We must reform the global trade system to better reflect your realities, challenges and ambitions.
We must deepen connections with transit countries through joint planning, mutual benefit, and shared infrastructure - including traditional trade routes and cross-border community ties.
Multilateral development banks must prioritize LLDCs with concessional funding in their regional transport and trade lending portfolios, rapidly scaling support for green, cross-border investments. When LLDCs are connected, entire regions can prosper.
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Third - we must strengthen climate action. LLDCs contribute less than 3 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions - but suffer disproportionately and unjustly from climate impacts.
From desertification in the Sahel to glacial retreat in mountainous regions, from extreme weather in Central Asia to changing rainfall patterns in South America, climate change is hitting landlocked countries hard.
The combination of landlockedness and climate vulnerability creates compound risks that threaten development - and in some cases, survival. When climate disasters destroy critical infrastructure, entire economies can be severed from global markets overnight. We must double adaptation finance as promised, invest in early warning systems, and build resilient infrastructure that can withstand climate shocks.
At the same time, the science is unequivocal: to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we must keep the 1.5-degree goal within reach. COP30 later this year must be a decisive moment.
G20 countries bear a particular responsibility due to the scale of their emissions. They must lead by example - submitting Nationally Determined Contributions that reflect their highest possible ambition.
And LLDCs must have the means to act, from financing and technologies to partnerships that align climate action with national development goals.
With the right support, the green transition can enable your countries to leapfrog to sustainable solutions - from renewable energy to electric mobility - creating new industries and decent jobs, while protecting the planet."
