Vienna: Amid calls from landlocked developing countries for more transportation infrastructure and transit corridors, one speaker at this morning's round-table discussion at the Third Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries encouraged those countries to use existing international instruments to enable smoother transit. The theme of the round table was Building sustainable infrastructure, strengthening connectivity, and promoting unfettered transit systems for landlocked developing countries. Umberto de Pretto, Secretary-General of the International Road Transport Union, noted that he lives in a landlocked country called Switzerland, whose experience demonstrates that geography does not dictate the future. He encouraged landlocked developing countries to consider solutions beyond physical infrastructure.
According to EMM, billions are being spent on building roads, but it is futile if drivers are waiting at borders for not just hours or days, but weeks, he pointed out. We have the audacity to talk of sustainable development, but a truck blocked at a border is the antithesis of sustainable development, he emphasized. When drivers are held hostage, waiting in long lines to get to the other side, economies are stopped. As for the environment, trucks are idling at borders, burning fuel and emitting carbon dioxide because people in the room cannot get their act together to ensure that their drivers can move smoothly through borders within minutes.
Other speakers at the round table drew attention to the key role that transit corridors can play. Emile Zerbo, Minister of State for Territorial Administration and Mobility of Burkina Faso, pointed out that the closest transit port to his country is located 1,000 kilometres away. This represents a major structural challenge for external trade. Citing a recent study, he said that in 2023, for West African countries that did not have direct access to the sea, transport costs represented 45 per cent of total costs as compared to 10 per cent for coastal countries. Regional transport corridors are vital in the absence of direct access to the sea, he said, adding that landlocked developing countries need interconnected infrastructure, logistics platforms, and mechanisms for cross-border cooperation.
Fatou Haidara, Senior Director and Deputy Director General of United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), noted that she is from a landlocked country herself - Mali - and said that her organization's mandate is to support the transformation of least developed countries. Climate-smart, resilient, and digitally enabled infrastructure is key, she said, adding that transport corridors are not simply roads or rails, but economic lifelines. If properly planned, transport corridors can help reduce logistic costs dramatically, shorten transit times and improve predictability of business.
Leila Batyrbekova, Founder of the Europe and Central Asia Transport and Trade Association, said her Association is dedicated to connecting Europe with Central Asia and Mongolia. As an example of the challenge of being landlocked, she noted that to come to this conference, she traveled from Belgium, covering 7,000 kilometers, 13 countries, and many border crossings. It took her 14 days, she said, adding that there is much to do to improve connectivity to and from landlocked developing countries.
In her closing remarks, Madina Sissoko Dembele, Minister for Transport and Infrastructure of Mali, who chaired the meeting, called for innovative resources to ensure access to global markets. Transit costs can be as high as 70 per cent of total transport costs for landlocked developing countries, she noted, adding: We need partnerships and synergies of action. When the floor opened for interactive discussion, several landlocked developing countries echoed the call for establishing transit and energy corridors.
Several gateway countries also spoke, outlining their efforts to ensure that their landlocked neighbors are connected. Expressing solidarity with landlocked developing countries, Angola's delegate said that connectivity must be treated as a regional public good. Highlighting the Lobito Corridor - his country's contribution to this effort - he noted that it connects the interior regions of Africa to the Atlantic coast and serves the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and other landlocked neighbors.
The representative of the United Republic of Tanzania said that as a coastal State sharing borders with six landlocked countries, his country recognizes its pivotal role in regional integration. It is modernizing the port of Dar-e-Salam and putting in place a series of measures to fast-track the movement of goods.
The representative of the European Union pointed out that physical infrastructure alone is not enough. Human-centred digitalization, interoperability, streamlined border management, and harmonized customs procedures are essential soft measures that will unlock new opportunities, he said.
Dima Al-Khatib, Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation also spoke during the interactive dialogue, saying her Office is distilling lessons from South-led homegrown solutions, enabling technological catch-up and systematic knowledge exchange, as well as raising resources in line with the Awaza Programme of Action. She urged massive investment to close the estimated $500 billion finance gap for least developed countries, which need 46,000 kilometers of railways and nearly 200,000 kilometers of paved roads to bring them to the global average.
