Asia-Pacific Landlocked Developing Countries Policy Dialogue opens in Mongolia

The Landlocked Developing Countries Policy Dialogue jointly organized by the Mongolian government and UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) opens Tuesday. Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold and UN Under-Secretary-General Noeleen Heyzer attended the meeting.

Batbold highly valued that ESCAP is a powerful solid platform for promoting regional cooperation to achieve inclusive and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific, and it has contributed a lot to the regional connectivity to enhance trade, transport and ICT networks, energy security, social protection and financial cooperation during the last few years.

He also said although the Aisa-Pacific region had made a considerable progress with the implementation of the Almaty Program of Action (APA) adopted in 2003 which aims to resolve the special needs of landlocked developing countries, but problems with uneven implementation still remain.

He proposed the landlocked developing countries should have specific economic and ecological vulnerability indicators to evaluate their geographic disadvantages and transport-related costs relative to the rest of the world, and asked for a assistance from transit countries on concessional terms and conditions of bilateral and regional agreements for transit traffic.

Heyzer, also Executive Secretary of the ESCAP, said landlocked developing countries are made the most vulnerable countries by their geographical isolation, and are often suffered the hardest hit from the global economic swings.

She stressed ESCAP attaches high priority in its work program to the region's Landlocked Developing Countries, and she was pleased to see that with the adoption of the APA, landlocked developing countries have made substantial progress to overcome the barriers to international transit transport and trade.

Heyzer also said ESCAP will make efforts to build an international transport and logistics system for the region, and work with member states to promulgate an intergovernment agreement on dry ports, adding ESCAP has launched an initiative to mobilize regional cooperation in trade facilitation.

The event is held to discuss the difficulties the Asia-Pacific landlocked countries faces, and the landlocked countries in the region including Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Bhutan, Armenia, Afghanistan etc.as well as related countries and some international organizations attended the meeting.

Source: Xinhua

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