Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2024–2034

A/RES/79/233View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 13Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, published in 2024.

What other versions does this mandate have?

2 versions · 2015–2024

2024A/RES/79/233Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2024–2034LatestCompare with previous version
2015A/RES/69/137Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014-2024

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

9 entities

A dot marks an entity citing this document in its “Mandates and background” narrative rather than only its Legislative mandates list. Many do both.

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

11 topics

Climate Change Adaptation Development Assistance Digital Technology Industrialization International Trade Landlocked Developing Countries Productivity Programmes of Action Sustainable Development Trade Facilitation Transit

What does this mandate say?

366 operative paragraphs

Annex

Introduction

In quest of sustainable and resilient development in landlocked developing countries to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

We are at a defining moment in history where the decisions we make now will determine the future of the 32 landlocked developing countries situated in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, with a population of about 570 million, which continue to face a highly challenging pathway to sustainable development. Their inherent geographical and structural constraints related to the lack of direct territorial access to the sea, obstacles to transport and communication, long distances from major markets, cumbersome transit procedures and inadequate infrastructure are further exacerbated by unprecedented global challenges and crises, including the lingering effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID‑19) pandemic, geopolitical tensions and conflicts, food and energy crises, high transportation and trade costs, high interest rates, inflation, high indebtedness, climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification and pollution.

The years of cascading challenges, in which a health and socioeconomic crisis has shaken everyone, individually and collectively, threaten the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and all the Sustainable Development Goals. The world is plagued by growing poverty, hunger and malnutrition, inequalities, human rights violations, digital divides within countries and between developed and developing countries, vaccine inequity, complex humanitarian emergencies and armed conflict, insecurity, pandemics, environmental degradation, climate change and disasters. The situation for landlocked developing countries is particularly bleak. The situation demands urgent mobilization of our collective resources, decisive actions by all and innovative solutions to the unprecedented challenges. In this context, we strongly reaffirm our unwavering commitment to work tirelessly for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals in a balanced and integrated manner in its three dimensions, including by taking tangible steps and calling for greater action and extraordinary measures by all countries; and strengthened international and multilateral cooperation to support the landlocked developing countries in this endeavour and to reach the furthest behind first.

We are guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including full respect for international law. It is grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights treaties, the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the 2005 World Summit Outcome. It is informed by other instruments such as the Declaration on the Right to Development. We recognize the need to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies that provide equal access to justice and that are based on respect for human rights, on effective rule of law and good governance at all levels and on transparent, effective and accountable institutions.

We further reaffirm our commitment to enhancing our efforts for the full and timely implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, particularly with regard to the special development needs and challenges of landlocked developing countries.

We reaffirm all the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, including, inter alia, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, as set out in principle 7 thereof.

We note that mixed progress was made in the implementation of the six priority areas of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014–2024. The combined effects of the COVID‑19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions and conflict, and climate change, affected progress. We note with concern that the severe financing deficit, in particular for infrastructure, limited data and technical capacity constraints also undermined progress. Additionally, adverse global economic conditions characterized by tepid growth, surging inflation, increased pressure on energy, food and finance, supply chain disruptions and elevated trade costs continue to affect the recovery efforts of landlocked developing countries. Furthermore, landlocked developing countries were significantly affected by disasters, many of which are exacerbated by climate change, biodiversity loss and disasters, such as desertification, recurrent droughts, melting glaciers, floods and glacier lake outburst floods.

We recognize the limited progress that has been made during the implementation period of the Vienna Programme of Action. Considerable efforts have contributed to the realization of meaningful outcomes, including in facilitating trade, fostering regional integration, accession of landlocked developing and transit countries to international conventions for the promotion of transit and trade, and completing missing links and improving the quality of infrastructure for increased connectivity.

However, we note with concern that progress fell short of the goals and targets set out in the Vienna Programme of Action. Economic growth across the landlocked developing countries was modest and insufficient to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality, particularly among women, children and people in vulnerable situations, as well as people working in informal sectors.

We are concerned that landlocked developing countries have made very limited progress towards achieving structural transformation. We also note with concern that the economic structure of the landlocked developing countries continues to be characterized by a low level of diversification, with exports concentrated in a limited number of products, which tend to have low value addition and to be greatly susceptible to current and possible future external shocks and hazards. Road, rail, water and air transport infrastructure, and connecting river ports and seaports, remain insufficiently funded and underdeveloped, with huge missing links and inadequate maintenance.

We note with concern that the share of global merchandise exports of landlocked developing countries remains marginal, at only 1.1 per cent of the total global share in 2022. There was a growing interest in regional integration and cooperation among landlocked developing countries. The number of regional trade agreements that each landlocked developing country is a party to has increased, on average, from 3.3 in 2014 to 4.3 in 2023.

We express our concern that, while there was some progress in the allocation of official development assistance and aid for trade to landlocked developing countries, foreign direct investment flows declined and have largely been concentrated in natural resources. Furthermore, a large number of landlocked developing countries are either in debt distress or at a high risk of it.

We note that technology is rapidly changing the global economic landscape. It is reshaping work processes, production and distribution methods and consumption patterns. It is driving new innovations and fostering growth opportunities. It can also bridge the existing digital divides, including the growing gender digital divide, and accelerate progress for inclusive and sustainable development. Despite extraordinary opportunities, landlocked developing countries are not able to fully harness its potentials. This is due to a number of constraints, including infrastructure gaps, the relatively high cost of information and communications technology services, low digital literacy rates, insufficient regulatory frameworks and the high cost of accessing submarine cables.

We recognize that, during the implementation period, there was significant development of regional, subregional and multilateral initiatives to support transit. Progress was also made in ratifying the relevant legal agreements. Tools were developed to improve transit, such as the World Customs Organization transit guidelines, electronic consignment note and electronic TIR. Some progress was made in some corridors on the specific objective of the Vienna Programme of Action of reducing travel time along corridors.

We also note that some progress was made in completing missing links and generally improving the quality of infrastructure for increased connectivity of landlocked developing countries, but challenges remain. Several highway networks and railway lines were commissioned in those countries during the implementation period, but many more are needed.

We recognize the challenges that hampered the full implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action, including the persisting insufficiency and inadequacy of means of implementation, a lack of capacity in formulating financially viable infrastructure projects, low flows of official development assistance, the concentration of investment inflows towards natural resources, high debt vulnerabilities and multiple international crises, including the COVID‑19 pandemic, that have had a disproportionately severe impact on the landlocked developing countries.

We reaffirm the importance of promoting unfettered, efficient and cost-effective access to and from the sea by all means of transport, on the basis of the freedom of transit, and other related measures, in accordance with applicable rules of international law. We reaffirm the need to reduce trade transaction costs and transport costs, and to develop adequate transit transport infrastructure networks. We recognize the continued importance of structural transformation, value addition, industrialization and diversification.

We recognize that increased participation in international trade, anchored in a strengthened multilateral trading system that is equitable and fair, is critical to the economic growth of landlocked developing countries and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. We recognize the crucial role of transport corridors as the backbone of transportation networks, linking major gateways and hubs, to enhance landlocked developing countries’ connectivity to markets, achieve efficient transit and reduce transport costs.

We also recognize the importance of investment in supporting human capital development through inclusive, equitable, quality education and skills training for all, including for those in vulnerable situations. We acknowledge the importance of quality science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and institutional capacity development in landlocked developing countries in order to accelerate poverty reduction and effective sustainable development measures.

We recognize that landlocked developing countries require greater technical assistance and capacity-development support in several areas, including the effective accession to and ratification and implementation of relevant regional agreements, developing bankable projects, implementing effective, targeted industrial policies, the industrialization of agriculture and diversification of their production and export base, promoting innovation and the greater use and adaptation of technology, strengthening domestic resource mobilization and substantially reducing illicit financial flows, and strengthening the enabling environment for investments.

We express concern that the gender gap persists across all areas, including with respect to assets, inputs and services. We reaffirm that gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls will make a crucial contribution to progress across all the Sustainable Development Goals and targets in landlocked developing countries. We underline the urgent need to invest in and strengthen efforts to support the empowerment of all women and girls, including by removing all legal, social and economic barriers to achieving gender equality.

We further recognize that strong bilateral, multilateral and multi-stakeholder partnerships are critical and commit to working in collaboration with academia, civil society and the private sector to drive innovation that will identify solutions to pressing development challenges and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Programme of Action, including through transparent, effective and accountable public-private partnerships.

We recognize that landlocked developing countries, due to their structural constraints, in addition to their landlockedness, require additional efforts, including additional borrowing, to stimulate their development, which affects their fiscal space and in turn impacts the policy space they require to support their sustainable development. This situation creates a bottleneck in financing for development and demands responses and solutions tailored to the specificities of these countries.

With this in mind, the present Programme of Action determines a renewed and strengthened commitment by the landlocked developing countries, transit countries, development partners, the United Nations system and international, regional and subregional organizations, multilateral and regional development banks and the international community as a whole. It is grounded in the overarching goals of addressing the special development needs, vulnerabilities and challenges of landlocked developing countries arising from their landlockedness, remoteness and geographical constraints in a more coherent manner to contribute to an enhanced rate of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, effective participation in international trade and the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty. This will be achieved through a reinvigorated global partnership for sustainable development based on scaled-up and ambitious means of implementation and diverse support for the landlocked developing countries through forging the widest possible coalition of multi-stakeholder partnerships. We will also promote a disaster risk-informed approach to sustainable development at the local, national, regional and global levels and accelerate progress on integrating disaster risk reduction into policies, programmes and investments at all levels.

We emphasize that the present Programme of Action is based on a comprehensive, results-oriented, quantifiable, forward-looking, coherent, renewed and strengthened global partnership for landlocked developing countries that is fully aligned with the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Sendai Framework and the Paris Agreement, between landlocked developing countries and the transit countries and their development partners, as well as with the relevant international and regional organizations, the private sector, civil society and other relevant stakeholders.

We therefore emphasize that the theme of the Conference, “Driving progress through partnerships”, articulates the most practical and reliable way for landlocked developing countries to achieve the goals and targets set in the present Programme of Action.

We invite the landlocked developing countries, transit countries, their development partners, the United Nations system and all other relevant stakeholders to implement the relevant actions, agreed upon in the present Programme of Action in its five priority areas, in a coordinated, coherent and expeditious manner consistent with national priorities. We also call upon relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and invite international organizations and relevant regional and subregional organizations, to integrate the Programme of Action into their programmes of work, as appropriate, within their respective mandates.

We emphasize that partnerships between landlocked developing countries and transit countries are mutually beneficial for the improvement and constant maintenance of their infrastructure connectivity and of technical and administrative arrangements in their transport, customs and logistics systems. Efficient transit transport systems, strong collaborative efforts in multimodal transport infrastructure development and interlinkage, the promotion of an enabling legal environment and institutional arrangements and strong national leadership on cooperative arrangements between landlocked developing countries and transit countries are also crucial for achieving structural transformation and sustainable economic growth and development.

We underscore that the ownership, leadership and primary responsibility for development in landlocked developing countries lies with the landlocked developing countries themselves as articulated through their own national economic and development policies and strategies. We nevertheless emphasize that the development of the landlocked developing countries rests not only upon themselves but with the collective efforts and essential support, cooperation and development assistance of the international community.

We reaffirm that renewed and strengthened partnerships with development partners will be crucial for the full and timely implementation of the present Programme of Action. The international community, including financial and development institutions, multilateral organizations and agencies and donor countries, is urged to provide adequate financial and technical support to advance the specific objectives listed herein. Regional and subregional cooperation or integration should also play an important role in successfully addressing the specific problems of landlocked developing countries.

We further welcome and re-emphasize the role of international development cooperation, particularly North-South cooperation, which remains a fundamental catalyst for sustainable development, in mutually agreed areas of cooperation within the framework of South-South and triangular cooperation, which is an important complement to, and not a substitute for, North-South cooperation.

We note the importance of economic, political and cultural ties at various levels as contributors to long-term regional prosperity, stability and peace.

We recognize that people, especially the large proportion of youth and working-age population in landlocked developing countries, are critical assets for their development. It is estimated that, between 2024 and 2034, the population in the landlocked developing countries will increase by 135 million, to 726 million people. Young people constitute a tremendous and essential asset worth investing in, opening the door to an unparalleled multiplier effect.

We affirm that Governments play a very important role in articulating and implementing the policies and programmes that will support a sustainable future that leaves no one behind. National parliaments have a great role to play in enacting legislation and allocating funds that serve all in order to leave no one behind.

The present Programme of Action will have five priority areas for action, as follows:

Priority area 1: Structural transformation and science, technology and innovation

Priority area 2: Trade, trade facilitation and regional integration

Priority area 3: Transit, transport and connectivity

Priority area 4: Enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change and disasters

The fulfilment of commitments in these areas will be supported through additional dedicated actions on implementation, follow-up and monitoring.

Priority area 1: Structural transformation and science, technology and innovation

We recognize that the landlocked developing countries face major structural impediments to their sustainable development, including weak productive and supply capacities and lack of advancement in science, technology and innovation.

We are concerned that many landlocked developing countries have achieved limited economic diversification, remained dependent on a few commodities, and continued to be positioned at the lower ends of regional and global value chains.

We note with concern that the landlocked developing countries have been among the worst affected by multiple and interlinked global crises, including the COVID‑19 pandemic and its lingering effects, climate change, and geopolitical tensions and conflicts in different parts of the world, which have derailed their progress toward structural transformation and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

We recognize that structural transformation that prioritizes economic diversification, especially by promoting value addition and industrialization, and leveraging the power of science, technology and innovation, is critical to support the landlocked developing countries to overcome their unique challenges, build resilience against current and possible future shocks and hazards, and achieve their development ambitions.

I.Productive capacity development

We recognize that many landlocked developing countries have weak productive capacities that constrain their ability to foster technology spillovers across sectors, to produce efficiently and effectively, to diversify their economies, and to create productive and sustainable employment.

We emphasize that sustainable agricultural production, food security, nutrition and food safety are key elements for the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions.

We also recognize that agriculture remains crucial to the economies of the landlocked developing countries, accounting on average for 17 per cent of their gross domestic product and the employment of approximately 55 per cent of their workforce, and note that the sector struggles with low productivity, vulnerability, high informality, due to limited access to quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, underdeveloped supply chain systems, limited value addition and a lack of access to and utilization of modern technologies.

We are also concerned that the services sector of the landlocked developing countries remains concentrated in lower value-added activities and with limited knowledge-intensive services.

We recognize the importance of further development of human capital as a critical factor in the utilization of all other productive capacities. The landlocked developing countries need more support to increase the access of their people, particularly women and the youth, to quality education and training to improve labour productivity and meet evolving skills needs.

We recognize that the landlocked developing countries need enhanced support from development partners to further develop their productive capacities, including through support for science, technology and innovation, labour productivity and entrepreneurial capabilities, the specialization of sectors, enterprises and farms, and capital and resource accumulation.

We also recognize the importance of the creative economy in implementing the 2030 Agenda for all countries, including for landlocked developing countries, and the need for supporting actions undertaken nationally and internationally to secure the recognition of the true value of creative economy.

Acknowledging that pursuing circular economy approaches as a pathway to achieving sustainable consumption and production patterns, and encouraging approaches such as the circular economy, life cycle and other approaches, as well as zero-waste initiatives, can contribute to addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation and the impact of water scarcity, pollution and the impact thereof on human health, thus contributing to the achievement of related goals under the 2030 Agenda and other internationally agreed environmental goals.

We commit to promoting and supporting the formulation of national strategies for structural transformation, decent employment, diversification, value addition, and efficiency and competitiveness in the manufacturing, agriculture and services sectors, and call for enhancing financial and technical support from all stakeholders.

We call for increased public and private investment, including through international cooperation, in education and training, to reap demographic dividends, bridge technology gaps, bolster human capacity and skills and drive structural transformation.

We commit to taking necessary measures to harmonize skills development and training programmes at the national and regional levels. We will utilize regional and global networking platforms to enhance collaboration in this regard among Governments, businesses, educational institutions and others.

We commit to enhancing support to the landlocked developing countries for greater investment in rural infrastructure and research and development, accelerated adoption of modern sustainable agricultural practices, more effective use of inputs and the facilitation of better access to credit and insurance mechanisms.

We call for greater efforts to sustainably enhance the agricultural production capacities, productivity and food security of landlocked developing countries.

We commit to improving access to agricultural research and sustainable innovation practices for landlocked developing countries, including through agroecological and other innovative approaches and sustainable technologies.

We commit to exploring the establishment of regional agricultural research hubs for landlocked developing countries with a view to addressing structural impediments, enhancing agricultural productivity, promoting value addition, supporting capacity-building and facilitating improved agricultural practices. We request the Secretary-General to explore the feasibility, effectiveness and administrative modalities of such network hubs and report to the General Assembly at its eightieth session.

We encourage landlocked developing countries to create conducive policy environments for industrial diversification and value addition, including by building institutional and human capacities and supporting knowledge development. We support improving high-quality, timely and reliable data collection, including disaggregated data, to better understand productivity levels and trends and better inform policies to drive productivity shifts.

We encourage innovative solutions, entrepreneurship and the use of modern, sustainable, cost-effective technologies and practices, with an emphasis on the manufacturing, agriculture and services sectors, including tourism, information and communications technologies and finance.

We encourage the promotion of the inclusion and mainstreaming of the creative economy into economic policy, as well as in national and international development plans and strategies, and will assess, examine and explore the opportunities for new and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to promote sustainable development in its three dimensions in and through the creative economy, as well as address their risks and challenges.

We call upon the landlocked developing countries to integrate circular economy approaches into national and regional strategies and action plans, taking into account national circumstances and capacities, enhancing circular economy as a contribution to achieving sustainable consumption and production.

We call upon the landlocked developing countries to implement science-based, evidence-based and data-driven agricultural practices that increase resilience and sustainable productivity, help to maintain ecosystems, strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters, improve food security and reduce malnutrition in all its forms.

We commit to promoting fair market opportunities and full and equal access to financial services and products for landlocked developing countries to create sustainable growth and decent jobs, including for women and young people, through their beneficial integration into national, regional and global value chains.

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries through facilitating and contributing to responsible and sustainable investments to achieve deeper value chain integration and industrialization for critical materials in order to address their needs and competitiveness and become important links in production and distribution chains.

We commit to promoting collaboration throughout the minerals value chain, including critical minerals, and innovative approaches within the mining industry and local value addition of raw material to accelerate sustainable and inclusive development, including in line with Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 9 in the context of poverty eradication.

We commit to designing and providing support to landlocked developing countries for designing and implementing programmes in adopting clean technologies and in building their adaptation and mitigation capabilities in relation to the impact of climate change and disasters.

II.Private sector development

We recognize that a dynamic and environmentally and socially responsible private sector can invaluably contribute to achieving structural transformation and sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, and in this regard stress the importance of developing the necessary policies and regulatory frameworks and of strengthening enabling environments.

We note that a large proportion of enterprises in landlocked developing countries are micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, which have specific needs and challenges.

We note that structural constraints, such as high operating and trading costs, limited access to finance, skill shortages, inadequate regulatory frameworks, limited institutional capacity and insufficient infrastructure, hinder dynamic entrepreneurship and private sector growth in these countries.

We recognize that the landlocked developing countries need increased support for private sector development and that science, technology and innovation can help start-ups and enterprises to enhance their productivity and competitiveness, and move up the value chain ladder in agriculture, industry and the services sector, and increase to their trade potential.

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries to create entrepreneurship policies, institutional frameworks, export strategies and optimal national business climates, to facilitate the growth of start-ups and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, including women-owned micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. We also commit to supporting landlocked developing countries in the development of policy measures to develop sustainable digital infrastructures, including those related to enhancing financial inclusion and enabling the private sector to take full advantage of the opportunities created by e-commerce and the digital economy in an equitable manner, including micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.

We commit to supporting the establishment of special economic zones, industrial parks, technology incubators, innovation hubs or other innovative initiatives in landlocked developing countries by mobilizing multi-stakeholder support, including for policy formulation, targeted investments, infrastructure development and conducive business ecosystems for the growth and sustainability of such initiatives.

We also commit to supporting the landlocked developing countries to establish regulatory frameworks and guidelines, including with provisions on local content, labour and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms in order to improve responsibility and accountability of multinational corporations.

We commit to promoting the development of intellectual property rights that reward innovation.

We commit to developing inclusive and competitive value chains by further strengthening backward and forward linkages, economic diversification and leveraging the demographic dividend, with a view to creating full employment and decent jobs in landlocked developing countries.

We commit to fostering cross-sectoral linkages between tourism, agriculture and the creative or cultural sectors. We will also promote collaboration and partnership between start-ups, micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises and larger enterprises to foster national and regional value chains, strengthen domestic supply capacities and open up more opportunities for start-ups and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.

We commit to supporting a multi-stakeholder approach for private sector development in landlocked developing countries, including by establishing measures to enhance cooperation between government, the private sector and academic institutions and research centres.

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries with strengthening and simplifying transfer pricing protections, improving tax treaty practices.

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries in implementing targeted policy actions to reduce profit shifting with the aim of limiting tax revenue losses.

We will support landlocked developing countries, upon their request, for project preparation and contract negotiation, and review of existing contracts in extractive industries, in particular those related to critical minerals.

We also encourage landlocked developing countries to strengthen data collection, including disaggregated data, to generate better insights for the promotion of sustainable entrepreneurship and to monitor and evaluate progress.

III.Science, technology and innovation

We note that the surge of digitalization and a “fourth industrial revolution” have brought renewed emphasis on access to and capacity to develop and use modern and digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics and big data, as key drivers of industrialization, structural transformation and sustainable development.

We note with concern that the benefits of digital technologies have not been evenly spread across and within landlocked developing countries, which are still struggling to leverage the power of science, technology and innovation due to stark gaps in the areas of infrastructure, regulations, policies, enforcement capabilities and institutions, and digital skills.

We are concerned that the proportion of individuals using the Internet in landlocked developing countries was only 32.3 per cent in 2021, compared to the world average of 66 per cent, and that substantially more progress is required to achieve universal information and communications technology connectivity in landlocked developing countries.

We are also concerned that Internet use among women is 9 per cent lower than among men in landlocked developing countries as of 2023.

We are further concerned that the share of research and development expenditure in the gross domestic product of the landlocked developing countries was stagnant at 0.2 per cent, markedly below the world average of 1.8 per cent, and that annual patent applications filed by residents of landlocked developing countries declined significantly, from 2,764 to 929, between 2014 and 2021.

We note that the COVID‑19 pandemic has accelerated some trends, such as the growing relevance of e-governance and e-commerce, underscoring the pressing need for the landlocked developing countries to elevate the application of science, technology and innovation and digital solutions at both policy and operational levels.

We recognize the efforts for further investments in digital ecosystems in the landlocked developing countries to enable their integration into regional and global markets.

We recognize the need to promote safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems in the non‑military domain to accelerate progress towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda, further bridging the artificial intelligence and other digital divides between and within countries. We stress the need for the standard of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems to promote, not hinder, digital transformation and equitable access to their benefits in order to achieve all 17 Sustainable Development Goals and sustainable development in its three dimensions – economic, social and environmental – and address other shared global challenges, particularly for developing countries, and we further recognize that artificial intelligence can contribute to the long-term development aspirations of the landlocked developing countries.

We will take action to enhance the ability of landlocked developing countries to benefit from science, technology and innovation and address the major structural impediments to accessing new and emerging technologies, including through scaling up the use of open science, affordable and open-source technology, research and development, including through strengthened partnerships.

We commit to expanding participation of landlocked developing countries in the digital economy, including by enhancing their digital infrastructure connectivity, building their capacities and access to technological innovations through stronger partnerships and improving digital literacy and skills.

We commit to supporting the landlocked developing countries to leverage the power of science, technology and innovation to increase value addition and productivity in the manufacturing, agricultural and services sectors, with the aim of achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable growth.

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries to develop national research and innovation funds to support joint research and development projects between private businesses and public entities. We also commit to supporting the landlocked developing countries in establishing national research centres and enhancing the capacities of their existing national research centres and of knowledge hubs.

We recognize the need to adopt science, technology and innovation strategies for landlocked developing countries as integral elements of national sustainable development plans and strategies that help to strengthen knowledge-sharing and collaboration, scale up investment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, and enhance technical, vocational and tertiary education and training, including in a gender-responsive manner.

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries by exploring complementarities with existing open digital platforms and to develop tools with a regional focus for peer-to-peer level learning, trainings and capacity-building.

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries in the development of digital governance frameworks such as e-governance, digital public infrastructures and public regulatory capacities to promote comprehensive digital strategies that utilize and strengthen open-source approaches, build resilience, bridge digital divides, including the gender digital divide, promote equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and create jobs in the digital sector.

We commit to strengthened intraregional and international cooperation for support to landlocked developing countries, including with relevant United Nations agencies, to harness the benefits of science, technology and innovation for structural transformation, including through the Technology Facilitation Mechanism and the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development and by promoting financial investments from all sources.

We recognize the challenges of landlocked developing countries and commit to supporting them in accessing technologies and underline the need to support them in conducting technology needs assessments; building their scientific and technological capacities; promoting knowledge-sharing and networking; fostering entrepreneurship, technology exchange and innovation; facilitating policy development and implementation; and strengthening an innovative ecosystem. We also underline the need to prioritize supporting landlocked developing countries through the existing mechanisms and facilities, including the Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, as appropriate.

We call upon development partners to support technological upgrading and improvements to the science, technology and innovation ecosystem in landlocked developing countries, and to promote technology transfer on mutually agreed terms, including by building local technological capability sufficient to adopt and assimilate new and frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, machine learning and networks.

We call upon development partners, as well as all relevant stakeholders, to take action to help to bridge the artificial intelligence and other digital divides in landlocked developing countries.

We commit to support landlocked developing countries in developing and strengthening national digital strategies, meaningful digital connectivity, skills development, national regulatory frameworks and a conducive regional and global environment.

IV.Industrialization

We recognize that industrialization is a crucial driver of economic growth, job creation and value addition in landlocked developing countries, with spillover effects on agriculture, rural economies and on fostering demand for high value-added goods and services. We also acknowledge the contribution of science, technology and innovation to industrial development in landlocked developing countries and as a critical source of economic growth, economic diversification and value addition. We note with concern that most of the landlocked developing countries have been unable to sufficiently industrialize and integrate into regional and global markets. We also note that the manufacturing value added remained stagnant at between 12 and 13 per cent of gross domestic product and that medium and high-tech industries accounted for an average of only 14.5 per cent of manufacturing value added in landlocked developing countries during the period of implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action.

100

We recognize that the stagnant economic performance of the landlocked developing countries highlights the pressing need for strategic interventions to boost industrial development in these countries. The landlocked developing countries need country-specific industrial policies to ensure that their industrial development goes hand in hand with rural and agricultural development, and growth in the manufacturing and services sectors.

101

We encourage the landlocked developing countries to adopt proactive industrial policy frameworks, considering the changing nature of production and sectoral interdependencies, and to enhance productive capacities and collaboration with relevant stakeholders, with a particular focus on rural industrialization, and progressive formalization of the informal sectors and mainstreaming a gender perspective in industrial development cooperation and entrepreneurship.

102

We urge development partners to support the landlocked developing countries in strengthening strategic coherence between trade and investment policies, and industrial policy objectives.

103

We urge development partners to provide enhanced financial and technical assistance and capacity-development support to landlocked developing countries for targeted industrial development programmes and projects and investment in the manufacturing sector to promote value addition, diversification of their production and export base, innovation and greater use and adaptation of technology.

Priority area 2: Trade, trade facilitation and regional integration

I.International trade

104

We recognize that international trade offers extraordinary opportunities for achieving economic growth, job creation and sustainable development. However, landlocked developing countries are not able to harness their potential of international trade owing in particular to a lack of territorial access to the sea, remoteness from world markets and high transit costs and risks. These factors have severely constrained the ability of landlocked developing countries to benefit from the gains of trade to enhance their socioeconomic development.

105

We recognize that international trade is critically important for the landlocked developing countries, accounting for a higher share of their gross domestic product than the world average. We therefore seek to seize the transformative potential of trade for sustainable economic growth by significantly increasing the participation of landlocked developing countries in global trade.

106

We are concerned that the landlocked developing countries’ share in global merchandise exports was just 1.1 per cent of global trade in 2022, despite the landlocked developing countries representing 7 per cent of the world’s population.

107

We are concerned that the export structure of many landlocked developing countries is characterized by a limited number of products, which often have low value addition and are greatly affected by external shocks and hazards, noting that primary commodities accounted for 83 per cent of the exports of the landlocked developing countries in 2022.

108

We recognize that trade in services, digital trade and e-commerce have great potential for overcoming the geographical constraints to trade in landlocked developing countries. We are therefore concerned that the landlocked developing countries’ share of global exports of services reached only 0.7 per cent in 2022, while their share of digitally deliverable services reached only 0.3 per cent in 2022.

109

We recognize that continued support from the international community is critical to assist the efforts of the landlocked developing countries to extract, add value to and export their abundant resources of critical minerals.

110

We acknowledge a need for trade capacity-building for landlocked developing countries, including in the areas of trade policy formulation and trade negotiation skills.

111

We underline the importance of the promotion of a rules-based, non‑discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable and transparent multilateral trading system for landlocked developing countries, with the World Trade Organization at its core, as well as meaningful trade liberalization.

112

We note that 26 out of 32 landlocked developing countries are World Trade Organization members. Meanwhile, six landlocked developing countries are at different stages of the accession process.

113

We acknowledge the importance of dedicated sessions on transit at the Committee on Trade Facilitation. We welcome that the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization instructed the Committee on Trade and Development to hold focused sessions, to assess trade-related challenges identified for the fuller integration of landlocked developing countries into the multilateral trading system.

114

We recognize that landlocked developing countries need assistance from development partners to further scale up their legal and technical capacity to comply with sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade, including for goods in transit.

115

We commit to supporting the implementation of national trade strategies, policies and measures in the landlocked developing countries, including through investments in non‑traditional sectors and strengthening efforts towards the increased provision of development assistance and Aid for Trade, with a view to significantly increasing value addition and diversification in the exports of the landlocked developing countries.

116

We commit to promoting policies to improve the business environment and assist national firms, especially micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, including through support to women-owned micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, to participate better in international trade, including by, where appropriate, strengthening institutions that support trade, fostering access to credit and trade competitiveness, building spaces for private-public dialogue, fostering technical and vocational education and training and capacity-building, and creating market linkages through business-to-business platforms.

117

We support the efforts of commodity-dependent landlocked developing countries to address the factors that create structural barriers to international trade and impede diversification and encourage their beneficiation of primary commodities.

118

We invite development partners to support landlocked developing countries through capacity-building, to be able to comply with sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical standards, including, as appropriate, through the Standards and Trade Development Facility.

119

We commit to supporting the landlocked developing countries in their efforts to harness the benefits of trade in services and services-facilitated trade.

120

We encourage development partners and all other relevant stakeholders to work with landlocked developing countries to further facilitate trade in services in those sectors of interest to the landlocked developing countries.

121

We commit to supporting favourable conditions for the development of digital trade and e-commerce in landlocked developing countries by addressing the fundamental challenges of inadequate digital infrastructures, underdeveloped legal and regulatory frameworks and limited digital skills, by considering the specific needs and challenges of landlocked developing countries in relevant international trade negotiations and by improving their capacity to effectively participate in negotiations in these areas.

122

We commit to export-led growth in the developing countries through, inter alia, preferential trade access for developing countries, targeted special and differential treatment that responds to the development needs of individual countries, in particular least developed countries, and the elimination of trade barriers that are inconsistent with World Trade Organization agreements.

123

We will address non‑tariff measures and reduce or eliminate arbitrary or unjustified non‑tariff barriers, that is, those that are not in conformity with the rules of the World Trade Organization.

124

We urge development partners to enhance trade-related technical assistance to and capacity-building of landlocked developing countries to support their accession to the World Trade Organization, active participation in trade negotiations, structured dialogues and the resolution of disputes, and integration into the multilateral trading system.

125

We underline the landlocked developing countries’ interest to have a work programme on their special needs under the auspices of the World Trade Organization and look forward to the outcome of the focused sessions of the Committee on Trade and Development.

126

We encourage all countries to consider the specific needs and challenges of landlocked developing countries in all international trade negotiations.

127

We urge all relevant organizations, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, the World Customs Organization and the International Trade Centre, to provide specific support commensurate with their relative competencies to the landlocked and transit developing countries, including for export promotion, trade fairs, trade facilitation, e-commerce and the design and implementation of inclusive trade policies with specific consideration of the interests of women, youth and people in vulnerable situations.

128

We call upon States to ensure the normal functioning of open markets, global supply chain connectivity and cross-border travel for essential purposes, and to enhance the sustainability and resilience of supply chains, in order to help landlocked developing countries to address current and potential future shocks, hazards, disasters, pandemics and emergencies.

129

We encourage the development and the implementation of inclusive trade policies that can contribute to advancing gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, which has a positive impact on economic growth and helps to reduce poverty.

II.Trade facilitation

130

We recognize that trade facilitation has an important role to play in reducing trade costs for the landlocked developing countries, noting that trade costs are estimated to be 30 per cent higher for landlocked than for coastal developing countries, owing in part to the barriers and burdens of trading across a greater multitude of borders.

131

We are concerned that the COVID‑19 pandemic, which led to the closing of borders and the introduction of stringent border measures, as well as current geopolitical tensions and conflicts, demonstrates the fragility of international supply chains and the challenges of ensuring unfettered, efficient and cost-effective access for landlocked developing countries to and from world markets in times of crises.

132

We therefore strive to leverage trade facilitation for enhanced, predictable and resilient access to international markets, not just for the competitiveness of landlocked developing countries but also to ensure access to critical goods necessary for equitable socioeconomic outcomes.

133

We emphasize the specific importance of the freedom of transit for landlocked developing countries, in accordance with applicable rules of international law, as an essential condition for their connection to global and regional supply chains.

134

We recognize transport corridors as an effective tool for easing trade bottlenecks for the landlocked developing countries by fostering collaboration along transit routes that are also climate-resilient, and the development of facilities such as smart one stop border posts, including through the development of interconnected and interoperable transit procedures, standards and systems, and the design and financing of strategically connected multimodal transport and logistics infrastructures.

135

We note that, while the current implementation rate of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation stands at 81.1 per cent for all developing countries, the implementation rate for landlocked developing countries was only 61.8 per cent as of November 2023.

136

We recognize the need to continue to support landlocked developing countries with capacity-building in the areas of movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit.

137

We welcome the decision of the Twelfth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization for the Trade Facilitation Committee to hold a dedicated session on transit issues annually until the next review of the Trade Facilitation Agreement is completed and call for the strengthening and continuation of these sessions.

138

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries and transit countries to improve their trade facilitation, including by harmonizing, simplifying and standardizing their transit rules, documentation requirements, border crossing processes and customs procedures, in line with existing international standards and best practices for customs, transit and the safety and security of transport chains, including through single windows and customs digitalization.

139

We reaffirm our commitment to unfettered, efficient and cost-effective access to and from the sea by all means of transport, on the basis of the freedom of transit, and other related measures, in accordance with applicable rules of international law.

140

We encourage landlocked developing countries and transit countries to develop and strengthen transport corridors, including through streamlined border procedures, the implementation of legal frameworks and transit rule policies, coordination on the alignment of transport infrastructure with corridor routes, improved data collection and the sharing of best practices between corridors, as appropriate.

141

We encourage stronger collaboration between the landlocked developing countries and their neighbouring transit countries to collect data to monitor and address cross-border trade and transit challenges effectively.

142

We encourage sharing best practices with landlocked developing countries in customs administration and border and corridor management and in the implementation of trade facilitation policies at the global, regional and subregional levels, including in close cooperation with the private sector.

143

We will support the digitalization of trade and customs procedures to establish interconnectivity and ensure the fast and secure exchange of data and information concerning cargo and means of transport, based on international standards and instruments, while safeguarding data protection, and call for these systems to be interconnected and interoperable so as to cover the full transit operation.

144

We encourage the development of multi-country customs transit guarantee schemes and recognize that such systems require close collaboration and commitment among participating countries.

145

We will strive to provide capacity-building support to landlocked developing countries and transit developing countries to assist them in the implementation of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, consistent with the Agreement.

146

We commit to strengthening support for capacity-building for landlocked developing countries and transit countries in the ratification and effective implementation of international conventions on trade and transport facilitation.

III.Regional integration and cooperation

147

We recognize that the inclusive, equitable and affordable connectivity of landlocked developing countries has an inevitable regional dimension, with much of their trade necessarily flowing from and through their regional partners and regional value chains.

148

We note that the cost of reaching international markets for landlocked developing countries does not depend only on their geography, policies, infrastructure and administrative procedures, but also on those of neighbouring and transit countries.

149

We therefore seek to harness regional integration as one of the principal tools for increasing the participation of the landlocked developing countries in international trade.

150

We recognize the significant potential of regional economic integration and interconnectivity to promote inclusive growth and sustainable development in landlocked developing countries and reiterate our commitment to strengthening regional cooperation and regional trade agreements.

151

We welcome the considerable progress made in the negotiation and implementation of regional and subregional trade agreements since the Vienna Programme of Action, including the African Continental Free Trade Area, the Eurasian Economic Union and the Regional and Comprehensive Economic Partnership, as well as initiatives such as the Single African Air Transport Market and the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific. We recognize such initiatives as vehicles for integrating landlocked developing countries into regional and global value chains.

152

We emphasize the need for regional integration to encompass cooperation among countries in a broader range of areas than just trade and trade facilitation, to include investment, research and development, and policies aimed at accelerating regional industrial development and inclusive, equitable and affordable regional connectivity.

153

We commit to supporting the strengthening and deepening of regional and subregional integration arrangements, and their effective implementation, including through joint projects on transport, communication, digital and energy networks, the harmonization of regional policies and the sharing of best practices, and to supporting the alignment of development assistance, and in particular regional Aid for Trade.

154

We will support the deepening of regional and subregional integration, in the areas of trade, transport and transit facilitation, through enhancing infrastructure connectivity and facilitating the movement of cargo across borders.

155

We call for the specific treatment of trade transit and connectivity issues within regional and subregional trade frameworks and the strengthened participation of landlocked developing countries in such arrangements.

156

We call for the development of regional value chains, including by urging the international community to align its preferential trade schemes and initiatives to encourage regional cumulation.

157

We will further strengthen, technical and financial assistance and capacity-building to the landlocked developing countries and transit countries to support the landlocked developing countries in advancing their regional integration efforts, including to help them to formulate and implement bankable regional infrastructure development projects, in cooperation with transit countries and partners.

158

We encourage the promotion of regional and South-South cooperation in drawing lessons and technological catch-up, raising resources and the systematic exchange of knowledge and experiences for regional infrastructure development and integration.

Priority area 3: Transit, transport and connectivity

I.Transit transport connectivity

159

We recognize that landlocked developing countries face special challenges associated with their lack of direct territorial access to the sea and isolation from world markets, and that their connectivity challenges are exacerbated by inadequate transport infrastructure with missing links, poor logistics, dependence on their transit neighbours, and cumbersome transit and border requirements.

160

We emphasize the significance of declaring the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport for the 10-year period beginning on 1 January 2026, in particular for landlocked developing countries and transit countries, and look forward to an implementation plan for the Decade.

161

We are concerned that, despite improvements in transport infrastructure, inadequate physical infrastructure persists as a major obstacle to viable and predictable transit transport systems in landlocked developing countries, with transport infrastructure remaining largely unconnected to regional networks, resulting in high transport, trade and travel costs for both goods and services.

162

We note that road networks are an important mode of transport for both freight and passengers to and from landlocked developing countries and so are concerned that the road networks in landlocked developing countries fall short of the global average for paved road density by nearly 200,000 kilometres.

163

We recognize that rail transport offers shorter, faster and more reliable advantages over road transport, yet is undermined by missing links, ageing tracks and inadequate maintenance, and that an estimated 46,000 kilometres of railways would need to be constructed for landlocked developing countries to reach the global average in railway density.

164

We express concern that, during the period of implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action, four African landlocked developing countries were reported to have no railways and that the African railway network, which is mostly situated in North and Southern Africa, has over 26,362 kilometres of missing links. In this connection, we further regret that the infrastructure deficit and high cost of logistics constitute major constraints to the economic growth of landlocked developing countries and to the full realization of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

165

We recognize the potential of air transport for circumventing the impediments inherent in surface transport in landlocked developing countries, especially for tourism, which is one of the key sectors for economic growth in landlocked developing countries, and are therefore concerned that their air transport connectivity falls short of the world average due to a lack of investment and the limited expansion of affordable air transport services.

166

We are concerned that some challenges persist in the application of international law with respect to waterways, especially in relation to port infrastructure and national regulations, and note the need for coordination between landlocked developing countries and transit countries.

167

We underline that transit corridors should be considered as economic development corridors and as an important means for expediting the movement of goods and people across international borders by connecting key freight transport points in landlocked developing countries and transit countries, as well as other countries in the region.

168

We recognize that transit transport corridors link hard infrastructure, including roads, rails, waterways, ports, airports and border posts, and soft infrastructure, such as institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks, standards, operational and logistics services and the use of technology, to improve connectivity for landlocked developing countries. We note with concern that some landlocked developing countries have transit corridors that lack established corridor management institutions and the necessary legal frameworks to address institutional arrangements and implement harmonized and simplified procedures.

169

We recognize the importance of transport and transit corridors in promoting urban-rural, intra- and inter-country connectivity in order to boost economic growth at the local and regional levels, promote interconnections between cities, peoples and resources and facilitate intraregional and interregional trade.

170

We note that dry ports can improve the logistics performance of landlocked developing countries by increasing the efficiency of transport and logistics and by enabling a modal shift from roads to rail or inland waterways.

171

We acknowledge the concerns of landlocked developing countries that little progress has been achieved in the implementation of Part X of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, on the right of access of landlocked States to and from the sea and freedom of transit, and article V of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994 and section I, article 11, of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade Facilitation, on freedom of transit, in which the right of access of landlocked States, including landlocked developing countries, to and from the sea and freedom of transit is recognized.

172

We will strive to help landlocked developing countries to establish or maintain safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems, for example in the areas of rail transport, road transport, air transport, dry ports, waterways, pipelines and transboundary power lines, to reduce transport costs, facilitate trade, link to regional and international markets and enhance competitiveness.

173

We urge landlocked developing countries to develop and implement comprehensive national and local policies for safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport infrastructure development and maintenance, encompassing all modes of transportation that take into account the needs of women and girls, persons with disabilities, older persons and those in vulnerable situations.

174

We encourage landlocked developing countries and transit countries to pursue connectivity-related bilateral agreements in line with regional and international legal instruments, including those related to corridor development and management.

175

We call upon landlocked developing countries and transit countries to strengthen collaboration towards the implementation of best practices in developing transit infrastructure, including adopting international standards for the development of transit infrastructure and the harmonization of gauges to facilitate transit and enhance connectivity.

176

We commit to enhancing support to landlocked developing countries and transit countries to develop corridors along transit highways, upgrade and maintain existing ones, including by closing missing links, and encourage the use of information and communications technologies to increase the productivity of these corridors, improve safety and facilitate the sharing of information among corridor member countries.

177

We request the Secretary-General to establish, within six months of the adoption of the present Programme of Action by the General Assembly, a high-level panel of experts comprising Member States, relevant international organizations, the private sector, academia and independent experts, to examine the application of the existing international laws and agreements, identify constraints, and make recommendations on the freedom of transit for landlocked developing countries in accordance with applicable rules of international law. We also request the Secretary-General to transmit the report of the panel, along with its recommendations, to the Member States during the eighty-first session of the General Assembly for its consideration.

178

We commit to exploring the feasibility of establishing a dedicated infrastructure investment finance facility, building on the available financing facilities in this area, and we request the Secretary-General to elaborate on its feasibility and possible modalities and submit a report to the General Assembly at its eightieth session for its consideration.

179

We urge the regional development banks, the World Bank Group and relevant United Nations system organizations to provide additional financial and technical support to landlocked developing countries to facilitate the growth of ancillary industries and small businesses around the corridors.

180

We further call upon the international community to support measures to improve air transport connectivity in landlocked developing countries, including for boosting trade, tourism industry and job creation.

181

We request the International Civil Aviation Organization to build on its existing technical support and capacity-building programmes as well as financial assistance, as appropriate, to help landlocked developing countries to meet their identified aviation needs.

182

We commit to assisting landlocked developing countries to develop and maintain railway networks, especially those landlocked developing countries that do not have any railway infrastructure.

183

We commit to supporting the development and strengthening of the necessary institutional and legal frameworks for the establishment, management and maintenance of transport corridors, including harmonized and seamless logistics as well as standardizing vehicle loading, pavements design, signage and regulations across corridor members.

184

We encourage landlocked developing countries to develop and maintain sustainable revenue generation mechanisms, including adopting toll systems, to raise revenue for the maintenance of infrastructure and services along corridors.

185

We encourage landlocked developing countries and their development partners to promote increased participation of the private sector to enhance the prospects of creating more efficient, quality, resilient, reliable and sustainable transit transport infrastructure.

186

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries in strengthening their infrastructure financing capacity, including through development banks, development finance institutions and tools and mechanisms such as public-private partnerships and blended finance.

187

We also commit to strengthening the capacity of landlocked developing countries and transit countries to develop bankable transit and transport projects that are financially viable, environmentally friendly and accepted by the local communities, utilizing, among others, regional integration and approaches to attract funding and enhance project viability and the existing multilateral mechanisms.

188

We commit to promoting the transfer of knowledge on infrastructure finance, project preparation and implementation support, in the form of regional platforms, and open dialogues with project-related organizations and other stakeholders on how to develop bankable infrastructure projects and access innovative financing mechanisms.

189

We encourage landlocked developing countries and transit countries to develop multimodal transport networks in order to ease logistical challenges and reduce their overreliance on roads.

190

We note that cross-country and transboundary pipelines can be an energy-efficient and economical way to transport energy, including hydrocarbons and sustainable forms of energy, over long distances. We commit to continued international cooperation in promoting reliable and stable energy connectivity at the national, regional and global levels to advance economic integration and sustainable development in landlocked developing countries, in particular, to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7, on ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. We also encourage efforts for resilient and secure cross-border energy infrastructure and energy connectivity.

191

We commit to helping landlocked developing countries to establish dry ports in order to enhance their interconnectivity, which will also catalyse flows of goods and services and help to reduce transportation costs and total transit time, and further stimulate their economic growth.

II.Digital connectivity

192

We acknowledge that information and communications technologies, including high-speed broadband, promote economic development and recognize that overcoming the digital divides, both between and within countries and including the rural-urban, youth-older persons and gender digital divides, will help those living in landlocked developing countries to leverage economic opportunities in a world that is increasingly online.

193

We are concerned that the dependence of the landlocked developing countries on land links through their neighbouring and costal countries for access to submarine cables and international Internet bandwidth raises the cost and reduces the quality of their Internet access.

194

We reaffirm that improving fair negotiation and competition can help to address the challenges that hinder the access of landlocked developing countries to submarine cables and the high costs of their Internet.

195

We note that there are generally no harmonized regional regulations that establish fair interconnection and termination arrangements between countries, resulting in bilateral negotiations between transit operators and landlocked developing country operators, which can result in significantly high costs.

196

We encourage landlocked developing countries to strengthen and implement national broadband policies with a view to improving access to international high-capacity fibre-optic cables and high-bandwidth backbone networks to facilitate affordable, accessible and high-quality telecommunications services with the overarching goals of universal and affordable access to information and communications technologies.

197

We commit to developing and expanding the necessary information and communications technologies, including high-speed broadband, and digital infrastructure as well as capacity-building for the use of modern and affordable communications technology, including by utilizing programmes such as Partner2Connect.

198

We commit to strengthening regulatory harmonization and the implementation and coordination of regional agreements to establish fair interconnection and termination arrangements between countries and the implementation of standardized connectivity systems.

199

We urge development partners to support landlocked developing countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in their efforts towards achieving universal access to the Internet, leveraging all available and cost-effective means, including through submarine cables and satellite-based Internet connectivity.

200

We commit to enhancing the capacity of landlocked developing countries to mitigate threats and to ensure enhanced protection of their national critical infrastructure, including critical information and communications technology infrastructure, thereby increasing its resilience and making it more secure, including for women and children, so that it can serve national priorities and maximize socioeconomic benefits. We underline that the human rights that people have offline must be protected online.

201

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries to increase investments in digital infrastructure and the expansion of their data centre capacity, including through innovative and emerging technologies, such as satellite technologies, as well as innovative approaches such as community networks to ensuring meaningful connectivity.

III.Energy

202

We recognize that affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy infrastructure, including cross-border infrastructure as well as energy transit and connectivity infrastructure, is vital for achieving structural transformation and building the productive capacities of landlocked developing countries and welcome the progress made by landlocked developing countries towards increased access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy in recent years.

203

We recognize that the transitions to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all should be just, inclusive, equitable and secure, in line with national circumstances.

204

We recognize the role that natural gas can play in supporting transitions towards lower-emission energy systems and call upon Governments to enhance and collaborate on energy security, including through the sharing of best practices and knowledge for the security of gas supply and demand, in the broader context of the transition towards lower-emission energy systems.

205

We note that, while progress has been made towards access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy in recent years, 215 million people in landlocked developing countries still live without reliable energy, equivalent to about 40 per cent of the population. The share of modern renewables in total final energy consumption in the landlocked developing countries has progressed slowly and stood at 12 per cent in 2021.

206

We are further concerned by the large gap in access to electricity between urban areas and rural areas in landlocked developing countries, with 88 per cent and 46 per cent having access to electricity in 2020, respectively.

207

We call upon landlocked developing countries to strengthen and adapt their national energy policies to promote affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, with a view to significantly enhancing capacities in production, trade and distribution and ensuring access to energy for all and the transformation of their economies.

208

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries to strengthen their capacities for planning, implementing and monitoring clean and renewable energy policies and for developing bankable projects to leverage funding for energy projects.

209

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries to maintain existing infrastructure, and expand and upgrade, as appropriate, for the supply, transmission and distribution of affordable, reliable and modern services for all in rural and urban areas.

210

We aim to provide financial and technical support to landlocked developing countries to assist them in their objective to double the per capita generation of electricity in landlocked developing countries by 2030 and increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the energy mix.

211

We call upon landlocked developing countries to prioritize the development and implementation of innovative energy projects by leveraging bilateral and regional cooperation and coordination for the development of energy superhighways and encourage the landlocked developing countries and transit countries to enhance their collaboration in promoting cross-border energy trade and energy transit.

212

We commit to developing energy connectivity in landlocked developing countries through pooled power systems and cross-border power grid connectivity to enhance electricity efficiency and access, promote innovation and facilitate financing, and in this regard encourage the harmonization of operational, planning, regulatory and financial procedures and the sharing of best practices.

213

We commit to supporting the efforts of landlocked developing countries in enhancing funding for developing innovative solutions relevant to the local context and in response to those countries’ energy challenges in support of clean and renewable energy and capacities in energy production, trade and distribution, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 7.

214

We commit to creating enabling environments, including appropriate regulatory frameworks and policy reforms, to facilitate private sector investments, particularly in clean and renewable energy and capacities in energy production, trade and distribution.

215

We invite development partners, multilateral development banks and other international and regional organizations to substantially increase their investments for infrastructure development in landlocked developing countries, including by strengthening energy systems through cross-border grid connections, as appropriate, and giving consideration to incorporating decentralized clean and renewable energy solutions in energy planning, and recognizing that the energy transition will take different pathways in different parts of the world.

216

We commit to prioritizing access to clean cooking, overcoming infrastructure barriers, such as lack of access to electricity and clean fuels, and income barriers such as unaffordability, while addressing gender equality and relevant behavioural and cultural factors.

Priority area 4: Enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change and disasters

217

We recognize that, while the total greenhouse gas emissions of the 32 landlocked developing countries add up to only 1.9 per cent of global emissions, those countries are vulnerable to and remain negatively affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, including desertification, deforestation, land degradation, droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, floods, melting mountain glaciers, glacier lake outburst floods and landslides. Approximately 54 per cent of landlocked developing countries’ land is classified as dryland and 60 per cent of the population in those countries are located in these drylands. In addition, many of the landlocked developing countries are mountainous countries, making them more vulnerable to the impact of climate change and environmental degradation that is also exacerbated by climate change. However, landlocked developing countries have limited institutional, technical and financial capacities to tackle the challenges arising from the adverse impacts of climate change.

218

We are concerned that climate change and natural hazards have a severe impact on landlocked developing countries, particularly on their lives and livelihoods, economy, infrastructure, settlements and other assets. These impacts often come in succession and trigger secondary effects such as famine and disease outbreaks and can exacerbate biodiversity loss. In arid and semi-arid areas, climate impacts on agricultural productivity may be compounded by limited water availability.

219

We encourage partnerships to strengthen the understanding of disaster risk, including the impacts of climate change and, more broadly, systemic risk and its application in decision-making in landlocked developing countries, including through disaster risk reduction education, comprehensive risk management, building academic and scientific capacity, the utilization of frontier technologies and supporting traditional, Indigenous and local knowledge and practices.

220

We note with concern that the current provision of climate finance for adaptation remains insufficient to respond to worsening climate change impacts in developing country parties, welcome the recent pledges made by many developed countries to increase their provision of climate finance to support adaptation in developing countries in response to their growing needs, including contributions made to the Adaptation Fund, the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Green Climate Fund, which represent significant progress compared with previous efforts, and recall that the Glasgow Climate Pact urged developed countries to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing countries from 2019 levels by 2025, in the context of achieving a balance between mitigation and adaptation in the provision of scaled-up financial resources, emphasized the urgency of scaling up action and support, including finance, capacity-building and technology transfer, to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change in line with the best available science, taking into account the priorities and needs of developing country parties, and in that regard recognized the importance of the global goal on adaptation for effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.

221

We note the interest and commitment of the landlocked developing countries to develop a dedicated work programme on landlocked developing countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

222

We note the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction.

223

We emphasize that landlocked developing countries are also home to certain minerals critical for just, sustainable and inclusive transitions and the opportunity that these minerals offer to support economic diversification and inclusive economic growth, structural transformation and industrialization, and poverty and inequality reduction, while minimizing negative environmental and social impacts of minerals development in mineral-exporting landlocked developing countries.

224

We express appreciation that all parties to the Paris Agreement, including all landlocked developing countries, have communicated nationally determined contributions that demonstrate progress towards achieving the Paris Agreement temperature goal, most of which provided the information necessary to facilitate clarity, transparency and understanding.

225

We emphasize the need for accelerated implementation of domestic mitigation measures, including in landlocked developing countries, in line with the Paris Agreement.

226

We also emphasize the urgent need to strengthen integrated, holistic and balanced non‑market approaches in accordance with article 6, paragraph 8, of the Paris Agreement, in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, in a coordinated and effective manner, including through mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer and capacity-building, as appropriate.

227

We recognize that enhanced access to international climate finance is important to support mitigation and adaptation efforts in developing countries, especially those that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, and also recognize the ongoing efforts in this regard.

I.Adaptation

228

We emphasize that it is essential to scale up support to landlocked developing countries and increase its effectiveness, to build resilience and strengthen adaptation planning and implementation to address the worsening impacts of climate change, safeguard progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and support the achievement of the other priority areas of the new Programme of Action.

229

We commit to support landlocked developing countries in their preparation and implementation of national adaptation strategies to address their priorities, including through the formulation of national adaptation plans and the subsequent implementation of the policies, programmes and projects therein, in line with the global goal on adaptation and the United Arab Emirates Framework for Global Climate Resilience, as appropriate.

230

We reaffirm our commitment to scale up support to landlocked developing countries for the preparation and implementation of adaptation projects and the development of climate-resilient critical infrastructure such as transport, energy, health and educational facilities, water, electricity and information and communications technologies.

II.Disaster risk reduction

231

We note with concern that climate change is making natural hazards even more frequent and intense. Landlocked developing countries are increasingly affected by floods, heatwaves, storms, droughts and glacial lake outburst floods. A number of landlocked developing countries are located in seismically active regions, with a high risk of earthquakes and secondary hazards, such as landslides, which cause widescale damage to infrastructure, property, health and sanitation, and loss of life. Landlocked developing countries suffer disproportionately high human and economic losses from disasters, which further compound the socioeconomic impacts of the recent COVID‑19 pandemic and other crises. Disasters, among other factors, impact ecosystems, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss.

232

We note with concern that, between 2013 and 2022, disaster mortality rates averaged 2.12 deaths annually per 100,000 population in reporting landlocked developing countries, significantly higher than the global average of 1.15 per 100,000 population. Landlocked developing countries also accounted for 4.14 per cent of globally reported economic losses between 2015 and 2022, while having only 1.05 per cent of the gross domestic product of reporting countries. We recognize that in 2022 only 59 per cent of the landlocked developing countries reported having multi-hazard early warning systems in place, which are among the most effective ways of reducing mortality and economic losses from natural hazards.

233

We reaffirm the importance of strong early warning systems for landlocked developing countries’ preparedness for disasters and the need for support in strengthening early warning systems as well as the promotion of early action. To ensure that everyone on Earth is protected from hazardous weather, water or climate events through life-saving early warning systems, as called for in the Early Warnings for All initiative, special attention will need to be given to landlocked developing countries due to their notable lack of early warning systems. We also underline the need for the development, strengthening and implementation of local, national and regional strategies and platforms, to take action to achieve the priorities and targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.

234

We are deeply concerned that coverage of and accessibility to multi-hazard early warning systems, in particular for people in vulnerable situations, remains inadequate and emphasize the need to urgently extend the reach of multi-hazard early warning systems in landlocked developing countries, in particular by strengthening the means of implementation.

235

We recognize the need to increase investments in disaster risk reduction and preparedness in landlocked developing countries for the protection of lives and livelihoods and ensure that integrated national financing frameworks are comprehensive; and encourage the allocation of more resources to ex-ante instruments for building resilience, including new financing approaches which incentivize disaster risk reduction and sustainable reduction of landlocked developing countries’ vulnerabilities to disasters.

236

We commit to embedding disaster risk reduction at the core of development policies and investments for structural economic transformation in landlocked developing countries in all areas of the Programme of Action.

237

We commit to the strengthening of early warning systems to help landlocked developing countries’ preparedness for disasters, many of which are exacerbated by climate change, and ensuring that landlocked developing countries are not left behind among the priority countries of the Secretary-General’s Early Warnings for All initiative.

238

We commit to carrying out multidimensional and comprehensive risk assessments, recognizing that implementation of the Sendai Framework can address drivers of vulnerability and exposure to build resilience and reduce humanitarian impacts and needs.

239

We call upon development partners to support the provision of adequate, sustainable and timely means of implementation through capacity-building, financial and technical assistance and transfer of technology, on mutually agreed terms, to landlocked developing countries, to enhance the collection, analysis and dissemination of disaster-related data and strengthen the role of national statistical and planning offices.

240

We invite the private sector and insurance markets to support landlocked developing countries to develop risk financing mechanisms and innovative and sustainable financing solutions, which increase the volume, efficiency and effectiveness of financial flows towards risk prevention at the local, national, and regional levels.

241

We invite the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank Group and other multilateral and regional development banks to consider vulnerability and climate change impacts in landlocked developing countries in their decision-making and debt sustainability analysis.

242

We request development partners, relevant entities of the United Nations system, international financial institutions and development banks, as well as the private sector and foundations, to continue to support landlocked developing countries in formulating and implementing national disaster risk reduction strategies to reduce risk and build resilience.

III.Climate finance

243

We note that, while support and funding has been provided for climate change adaptation and mitigation in landlocked developing countries, including from the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund, there remain financing needs.

244

We recognize that the Technology Mechanism composed of the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, is critical in promoting and facilitating enhanced action in technology development and transfer to address climate change.

245

We recognize the role of the Paris Committee on Capacity-building as a means to address gaps and needs in implementing and further enhancing capacity-building in countries in special situations, including the landlocked developing countries, for addressing climate action.

246

We recall that article 9, paragraph 1, of the Paris Agreement provides that developed country parties shall provide financial resources to assist developing country parties with respect to both mitigation and adaptation in continuation of their existing obligations under the Convention.

247

We also recall that article 9, paragraph 2, of the Paris Agreement provides that other parties are encouraged to provide or continue to provide such support voluntarily.

248

We further recall that article 9, paragraph 3, of the Paris Agreement provides that, as part of a global effort, developed country parties should continue to take the lead in mobilizing climate finance from a wide variety of sources, instruments and channels, noting the significant role of public funds, through a variety of actions, including supporting country-driven strategies, and taking into account the needs and priorities of developing country parties. Such mobilization of climate finance should represent a progression beyond previous efforts.

249

We reaffirm our commitment to provide information on financial, technology transfer and capacity-building support provided to landlocked developing countries in line with the Paris Agreement.

250

We commit to continuing and striving for increased support, such as for capacity-building for adaptation planning and implementation in landlocked developing countries, in order to address medium- and long-term adaptation needs through the formulation of national adaptation plans and subsequent implementation of the policies, programmes and projects identified by them.

251

We commit to continue supporting the Climate Technology Centre and Network Resource Mobilization and Partnership Strategy for 2023–2027 to address the climate change-related technology needs of developing countries, including landlocked developing countries.

252

We urge relevant United Nations system organizations and other international and regional development and financial institutions to provide capacity-building support to landlocked developing countries to enhance investment in projects that contribute to climate action in all sectors.

IV.Resilient infrastructure development

253

We note that disasters, many of which are exacerbated by climate change, weaken infrastructure, including railroads, roads, hydroelectric plants and other energy infrastructure, housing, schools, hospitals and other health facilities and public buildings; impact communication routes, such as international waterways, which are essential for trade, energy and transportation; and impose a direct cost on transit trade, which consequently limits the sustainable development efforts in landlocked developing countries and their ability to compete in global markets.

254

We note that quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure has the potential to promote sustainable development in landlocked developing countries and avoid regresses through damages and disruptions caused by disasters. This is in line with the targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 9, on resilient infrastructure.

255

We commit to strengthening analysis on disaster risks, including the impacts of climate change, as an integral part of sustainable and resilient infrastructure development, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, maintenance policies, plans and programmes. We also commit to implementing appropriate monitoring systems to facilitate compliance of projects with guidelines and requirements.

256

We commit further to developing regionally integrated, sustainable, climate- and disaster-resilient transport, energy and information and communications technology infrastructure. We encourage development partners, including multilateral development banks, to provide resources to landlocked developing countries for building and maintaining climate- and disaster-resilient infrastructure, which is increasingly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.

V.Loss and damage

257

We are concerned that the adverse impacts of climate change that go beyond what can be mitigated or adapted to are significant for landlocked developing countries, due to their vulnerabilities stemming from geographical, socioeconomic and development factors, and addressing them requires global solidarity and cooperation.

258

We welcome the decision adopted at the fifth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement and the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the operationalization of the new funding arrangements, including a fund, for responding to loss and damage for assisting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

259

We acknowledge the urgent and immediate need for new, additional, predictable and adequate financial resources to assist developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change in responding to economic and non‑economic loss and damage. We commit to the prompt implementation of the relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement with regard to the new funding arrangements, including a fund, for responding to loss and damage, so that parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change may promptly access the fund, taking into account the needs and concerns of landlocked developing countries.

VI.Biodiversity loss

260

We note that many landlocked developing countries are both biodiversity-rich and also have significant natural resources. We recognize that the economies of the landlocked developing countries are highly dependent on the flow of goods and services that nature generates. Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems provide essential resources that directly support a range of economic activities, food security and nutrition and social services. It is a matter of concern that landlocked developing countries experience important ecosystem and biodiversity losses. For instance, in landlocked developing countries, land covered by forests has declined from 17.0 per cent in 2015 to 16.6 per cent in 2020, while the world average has remained constant.

261

We affirm that the landlocked developing countries’ rich biodiversity and natural resource endowment should be conserved and harnessed only in a sustainable, fair and equitable manner to advance economic prosperity and human well-being, in fulfilment of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Strategies for sustainable development can help landlocked developing countries to transform and add value to primary products, while addressing their structural vulnerabilities and limited productive capacities.

262

We welcome the decision of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity at its fifteenth meeting requesting the Global Environment Facility to establish a special trust fund to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to complement existing support and scale up financing to ensure its timely implementation, taking into account the need for adequacy, predictability and timely flow of funds. We also stress the importance of engaging all relevant stakeholders to support the implementation of the Framework.

263

We reaffirm the commitment of the parties to the Convention on Biodiversity to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in an equitable manner in order to address the needs of landlocked developing countries and to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in those countries by 2030.

264

We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries in revising or updating national biodiversity strategies and action plans, including by promoting investments in alignment with the new Framework, mobilizing all sectors for increased policy coherence and action, strengthening monitoring, and improving resource mobilization strategies.

265

We reaffirm the commitment of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to substantially and progressively increase the level of financial resources from all sources, including domestic, international, public and private resources, in accordance with article 20 of the Convention, capacity-building, as well as technical and scientific cooperation, and access to and transfer of technology in the context of the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention so that landlocked developing countries are able to fully implement their commitments.

Priority area 5: Means of implementation

266

We acknowledge that available resources – domestic, external, public and private – have not been sufficient to meet the growing investment and spending needs of landlocked developing countries, despite the benefit of external resources, including international public finance, including official development assistance, foreign direct investment and other private flows, such as remittances and portfolio investment.

267

We therefore recognize that it is essential that landlocked developing countries, transit countries and their partners take transformative action to realize the full implementation of the Programme of Action, including through substantially increasing resources from all sources.

I.Domestic resource mobilization

268

We recognize that domestic resource mobilization is a critical aspect of economic development for all countries, including landlocked developing countries. A number of factors, such as narrow economic base, subsistence economies, inadequate tax administration and collection facilities, tax avoidance and evasion are constraining the mobilization of domestic resources in landlocked developing countries. An efficient and effective tax administration and strengthened institutional capacity of the landlocked developing countries can contribute to increasing their domestic resource mobilization.

269

Gross domestic savings as a share of gross domestic product in landlocked developing countries reached 24.1 per cent in 2021. However, this figure was much lower than the world average of 28 per cent, suggesting persistent development finance deficits in landlocked developing countries.

270

We call upon landlocked developing countries to diversify revenue sources beyond traditional sectors, through promoting sectors such as manufacturing, services and technology to reduce dependency on a few commodities.

271

We commit to enhancing international tax cooperation and efforts to close international tax loopholes, all of which are aimed at avoiding base erosion and profit shifting. We commit to supporting landlocked developing countries in taking advantage of international standards in tax transparency and the exchange of information, such as by implementing the new international standards of automatic exchange of information.

272

We call upon landlocked developing countries to manage extracted resources sustainably through sovereign transparent and accountable governance frameworks and ensuring that extractive industries contribute a fair share to public revenue, as well as reviewing existing tax and financial incentives with a view to maximizing public revenue from extractive industries.

273

We call upon landlocked developing countries to foster domestic financial deepening to augment domestic resources and attract savings from the diaspora, including through diaspora bonds, foreign currency-denominated deposits and syndicated loans using remittances as collateral where appropriate.

274

We call for innovative financial instruments that harness the potential of digital technologies for financing for national sustainable development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level, including digital finance platforms, innovative digital services, digitalization of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises and public resources mobilization.

275

We call for the mobilization of financing mechanisms, in particular existing ones, to provide catalytic financing for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, including those owned by women, in landlocked developing countries to mobilize sustainable private investment flows that promote the Sustainable Development Goals, build resilience to current and possible future crises and shocks, and help to mitigate their impacts.

276

We recommit to preventing and combating illicit financial flows and strengthening international cooperation and good practices on assets return and recovery to help landlocked developing countries to mobilize resources. We reaffirm our commitment to strive to eliminate safe havens that create incentives for the transfer abroad of stolen assets and illicit financial flows. We will implement our obligations to prevent and combat corruption, bribery and money-laundering in all their forms enshrined in the existing international architecture, in particular in those prescribed in the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

II.Official development assistance and other sources of external finance

277

We recognize that the provision of official development assistance remains a critical complement to domestic resources in landlocked developing countries and acknowledge that those countries depend on official development assistance to promote their economic development.

278

We note that official development assistance flows continue to be concentrated in a few landlocked developing countries and many landlocked developing countries receive less official development assistance compared to other developing countries.

279

We recognize that the volume of development finance in support of landlocked developing countries through traditional and innovative sources needs to be substantially increased, including through concessional finance and the mobilization of the private sector for, inter alia, developing quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure projects.

280

We urge development partners, including the developed countries, to honour their respective official development assistance commitments fully and in time and to step up efforts to increase their official development assistance to landlocked developing countries, recognizing the specific needs and challenges of landlocked developing countries, in order to effectively implement the present Programme of Action, recognizing that grant finance and highly concessional finance are of great importance to them.

281

We urge international action to address the adverse effects of the increasingly financialized commodity markets, including through the establishment of rules to limit speculation, and new countercyclical financing facilities that can mitigate price shocks.

282

We commit to scaling up innovative finance to landlocked developing countries, to complement and better leverage already established financing mechanisms through innovative tools such as blended finance, and to enhance transparency and accountability in the use of official development assistance for landlocked developing countries, to ensure that funds are effectively and efficiently utilized for sustainable development.

283

We acknowledge the need to accelerate the transfer of environmentally sound technologies on mutually agreed terms to developing countries, including landlocked developing countries. We urge countries to consider ways to provide landlocked developing countries with greater access to global climate funds, and we will explore the mobilization of additional resources through the issuance of green bonds and other instruments.

284

We will continue efforts to improve the quality, impact and effectiveness of development cooperation and other international efforts in public finance, including by aligning the support with the national priorities of landlocked developing countries, reducing fragmentation and accelerating the untying of aid.

285

We urge multilateral development banks to bring forward actions to mobilize and provide additional financing within their mandates, to support landlocked developing countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and deliver the scale of finance needed for infrastructure investments, to improve landlocked developing countries’ connectivity.

286

We acknowledge the role of multilateral development banks in catalysing private investment and encourage the provision of increased concessional finance for infrastructure development to landlocked developing countries. We encourage multilateral development banks to enhance access to digital trade finance to help to narrow the trade finance gap, recognizing their important role in providing trade finance.

287

We welcome the special drawing rights allocation of the equivalent of 650 billion United States dollars of 23 August 2021, and commend the achievement of the target of 100 billion dollars in pledges for rechannelling special drawing rights or equivalent contributions, recommend the exploration of further voluntary options related to special drawing rights that could serve the needs of developing member countries of the International Monetary Fund, call for the urgent voluntary rechannelling of special drawing rights for countries most in need, including landlocked developing countries, including through multilateral development banks, and the International Monetary Fund Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust and the Resilience and Sustainability Trust, while respecting relevant legal frameworks and preserving the reserve asset character of special drawing rights, and will explore ways for future allocations of special drawing rights to benefit those countries most in need, including landlocked developing countries.

288

We resolve to strengthen technical, financial and capacity-building support to enable landlocked developing countries to advance their sustainable development efforts and access innovative financing mechanisms, including to formulate and implement bankable infrastructure development projects.

III.Foreign direct investment

289

We recognize that foreign direct investment can help landlocked developing countries to address their challenges by providing access to capital, technology and markets, and note the importance of both attracting foreign direct investment and ensuring that it aligns with their national development priorities.

290

We are concerned that, while inflows of foreign direct investment towards landlocked developing countries had recovered from the COVID‑19 pandemic in 2021, this recovery was below both the global and the developing country average. We note that factors leading to the decline in foreign direct investment flows to landlocked developing countries have included their weak integration into global and regional trade networks, higher competition for investment flows, low productive capacities and uncompetitive investment regulations.

291

We recognize that increased foreign direct investment in landlocked developing countries is needed, especially in infrastructure development to boost economic diversification and create decent employment.

292

We aim to increase foreign direct investment to landlocked developing countries, especially towards developing essential infrastructure, including transportation networks, such as roads, railways and ports in landlocked developing countries, as well as multimodal systems.

293

We commit to promoting foreign direct investment towards sectors that have export potential and can diversify landlocked developing countries’ economies, raise their foreign exchange earnings, increase economic growth and promote the growth of medium and high technology value sectors and their integration into global value chains.

294

We call upon landlocked developing countries to establish clear and stable investment policies and a conducive business environment to attract foreign direct investment, including by addressing issues related to property rights, contract enforcement and dispute resolution.

295

We urge the international community to take measures to ensure that foreign direct investment is directed toward sectors and projects that align with the Sustainable Development Goals and have positive spillover effects on the economy.

296

We commit to developing mechanisms to facilitate investment guarantees to promote foreign direct investment to landlocked developing countries.

297

We commit to the mobilization of all existing investment promotion platforms to attract additional investment for landlocked developing countries, including through peer learning and capacity-building among investment promotion agencies. We further commit to strengthening the capacity of Governments of landlocked developing countries to facilitate investment, including for the promotion of foreign direct investment, domestic investment promotion, investment facilitation, tourism promotion, export promotion, and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise development, and to enable them to attract foreign direct investment.

IV.Remittances

298

We recognize that remittances are crucial for landlocked developing countries’ economic growth and social development as a private flow that complements other sources of income and note that remittances also have the potential to spur entrepreneurship.

299

We underline the crucial role of remittances, to fight poverty and inequalities and achieve gender equality, considering their countercyclical role in times of crisis.

300

We recognize the crucial role of implementing innovative ways to take advantage of technological breakthroughs, including digital solutions, that improve access to and the use and quality of financial services to promote faster, safer and cheaper remittances.

301

We note that remittances can help to start or grow small firms, boosting the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, and recognize that this entrepreneurial effort boosts grass-roots economic development, job creation and revenue.

302

We recognize that remittance flows to landlocked developing countries increased by 43 per cent between 2014 and 2022 but note that the distribution of remittances across those countries is uneven.

303

We commit to working to improve access to and the use and quality of financial services to lower the cost of remittances to landlocked developing countries and welcome international action, such as the Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development led by the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, with the objective of improving the flow and reducing the cost of remittances.

304

We encourage landlocked developing countries to foster the investment of remittances in education and healthcare, leading to human capital development and better employment prospects for recipients.

305

We call upon the relevant stakeholders to address the issue of high transaction fee costs on remittances due to geographical factors and limited access to financial services.

306

We commit to expanding financial inclusion and improving access to banking services, particularly for women, to help to lower remittance costs and encourage more people to use formal channels for sending and receiving remittances.

307

We invite the International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries to assist in improving the collection and analysis of data on remittances to understand their economic impact and to formulate appropriate policies and strategies.

308

We commit to creating incentive programmes to encourage the use of remittances for long-term investments, such as providing microloans or supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, including those run and owned by women entrepreneurs.

309

We encourage landlocked developing countries to establish clear and supportive policies and regulations to facilitate remittances, promote financial inclusion and ensure the security of remittance transactions.

V.Debt relief and concessional financing

310

We recognize that external borrowing is an important source of financing for landlocked developing countries and note with concern that high and rising interest rates pose significant debt sustainability risks to several landlocked developing countries with large external debt burdens.

311

We recommend assisting landlocked developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief, debt restructuring and sound debt management, as appropriate, to enhance the ability of countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

312

We note with concern that, of the 22 landlocked developing countries for which a debt distress analysis is available, 7 have a high risk of distress and 4 are already in distress.

313

We recognize the importance of a holistic approach that combines, as appropriate, debt relief, sound debt management, concessional financing, good governance and strategic investments to improve debt sustainability and drive sustainable development in landlocked developing countries.

314

We recognize the important role, on a case-by-case basis, of debt relief, including debt cancellation, as appropriate, and debt restructuring as debt crisis prevention, management and resolution tools, while also recognizing the development needs of landlocked developing countries.

315

We support landlocked developing countries in seeking to negotiate, as a last resort, on a case-by-case basis and through existing frameworks, agreements on temporary debt standstills between debtors and creditors in order to help to mitigate the adverse impacts of a debt crisis and stabilize macroeconomic developments.

316

We invite creditors and debtors to further explore, where appropriate and on a mutually agreed, transparent and case-by-case basis, the use of new and improved debt instruments such as debt swaps, including debt for equity in Sustainable Development Goal projects, as well as debt indexation instruments in the landlocked developing countries.

317

We urge international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and regional development banks to increase support, including financial and technical assistance, for institutional capacity-building in landlocked developing countries to enhance sustainable upstream and downstream debt management as an integral part of national development strategies, including by promoting comprehensive, transparent and accountable debt management systems and negotiation and renegotiation capacities and by supporting legal advice in relation to addressing external debt litigation and debt data reconciliation between creditors and debtors, notably through the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, so that debt sustainability may be achieved and maintained.

Implementation, follow-up and monitoring

318

We emphasize that efficient follow-up and monitoring mechanisms adapted at the national, subregional, regional and global levels are crucial for the successful implementation of the present Programme of Action and their full alignment with existing frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals. We reaffirm that national, regional and global mechanisms should be mutually complementary and reinforcing.

319

We underscore that national leadership and ownership of development strategies and policies of landlocked developing countries, transit countries and development partners must be ensured during the whole process of implementation, follow-up and monitoring.

320

We stress that implementation, follow-up and review undertaken at the national, subregional, regional and global levels should be a continuous process, coupled with close coordination and cooperation with transit countries and development partners as well as all other relevant stakeholders, and the process should be aimed at delivering on their commitments, reinforcing partnerships and mutual accountability at all levels and by all actors.

I.National reviews

321

We encourage regular and inclusive reviews of progress on the Programme of Action at the national level that are country-led and country-driven with the full involvement of all relevant stakeholders. National parliaments as well as other institutions can also support these processes.

322

At the national level, each landlocked developing country Government should develop an ambitious national implementation strategy and integrate the provisions of the Programme of Action into its national development policies and United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.

323

We emphasize that existing country-level review and reporting mechanisms, including those for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, nationally determined contributions and United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks, should be broadened to cover the review of the Programme of Action and extended to all landlocked developing countries.

II.Regional reviews

324

Follow-up and review at the regional and subregional levels is particularly important as cooperation for transit transport is inherently implemented at the bilateral, subregional and regional levels. We urge in this respect the cooperation of regional and subregional commissions and organizations.

325

We call for inclusive regional processes to draw on national-level reviews and contribute to follow-up and review at the global level, including at the high-level political forum on sustainable development.

326

We stress the need for fully functioning and effective regional coordination mechanisms within the framework of the regional commissions to support successful implementation of the Programme of Action.

327

We encourage the regional commissions to undertake biennial regional reviews on the implementation of the new Programme of Action, in close coordination and cooperation with subregional and regional development banks and intergovernmental organizations, and to submit analytical reports on the implementation of the Programme of Action. The relevant regional and subregional organizations and the private sector should be actively involved in the sessions of the regional commissions in that regard.

328

We note that inclusive regional processes will draw on national reviews and contribute to follow-up and review at the global level. The relevant United Nations regional commissions and agencies should continue to ensure that the needs and challenges of landlocked developing countries are addressed as part of their ongoing work.

III.Global-level implementation

329

We recognize that the implementation and monitoring mechanisms established at the global level should be strengthened and improved with a view to ensuring timely and effective follow-up of the implementation of the Programme of Action, including through better stocktaking of policies and measures at the national, regional and sectoral levels; improved substantive support for the implementation of the Programme of Action at the global level; systematic monitoring of relevant developments in other intergovernmental processes and action by the United Nations system organizations and inter-agency processes; and structured support for follow‑up from the landlocked developing countries themselves.

330

We call for strengthening the science-policy interface to provide a strong evidence-based instrument to support the implementation of the present Programme of Action in all its priority areas.

331

We invite the General Assembly to continue to monitor the implementation of the Programme of Action on an annual basis under the specific item on its agenda. Follow-up and review at the global level will be informed by an annual progress report to be prepared by the Secretary-General in cooperation with the United Nations system on the basis of the data produced by national statistical systems and information collected at the regional level and from the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat.

332

Effective linkages will be made with the follow-up and review arrangements of all relevant United Nations conferences, processes and frameworks, including the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework.

IV.Mainstreaming the Programme of Action

333

We call upon landlocked developing countries, transit countries, development partners and United Nations system entities to mainstream the Programme of Action into their respective national and sectoral development strategies, development cooperation frameworks and strategic plans for its effective implementation where appropriate. Landlocked developing countries and transit developing countries are encouraged to establish national coordination mechanisms, where appropriate.

334

We invite regional and subregional organizations, including regional economic communities and regional development banks, to mainstream the implementation of the Programme of Action into their relevant programmes.

335

We invite the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, as well as the high-level political forum on sustainable development, to devote adequate time to discussion of the sustainable development challenges facing the landlocked developing countries in order to enhance engagement and implement commitments.

336

We invite the governing bodies of the United Nations funds and programmes and other multilateral organizations, including the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions, as well as the World Trade Organization, to contribute to the implementation of the Programme of Action and to integrate it into their work programmes, as appropriate and in accordance with their relevant mandates. These organizations are invited to participate fully in reviews of the Programme of Action at the national, subregional, regional and global levels.

V.Full mobilization of the United Nations system

337

The Secretary-General is requested to ensure the full mobilization of all relevant parts of the United Nations system to facilitate coordinated implementation and coherence in the follow-up to and monitoring of the Programme of Action at the national, subregional, regional and global levels.

338

The available coordination mechanisms, such as the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination and the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, should be broadly utilized and we call for the existing high-level United Nations coordination mechanisms to generate momentum and support for the Programme of Action in the system.

339

We acknowledge with appreciation the work of the Inter-Agency Consultative Group for Landlocked Developing Countries, led by the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, and call for its further strengthening.

340

We call for closer coordination between the Office of the High Representative and United Nations country teams in landlocked developing countries, as an important tool for follow-up to and review of the implementation of provisions of the Programme of Action. We also stress the critical importance of the more proactive role of United Nations agencies, including through the United Nations resident coordinators and country teams, in mobilizing all stakeholders to help Governments of landlocked developing countries to address the challenges caused by those countries’ structural constraints.

VI.Role of the Board of Advisers to the President of the General Assembly on Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States and the Group of Friends of Landlocked Developing Countries

341

We recall the Board of Advisers to the President of the General Assembly on Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States and call for leveraging the mechanism to share experiences and mobilize resources for landlocked developing countries.

342

We underscore the important role of the Group of Friends of Landlocked Developing Countries and call for its active participation and support in the implementation of the Programme of Action.

VII.Preparation of a comprehensive road map and implementation and monitoring framework

343

We invite the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States to prepare a comprehensive road map for the accelerated implementation of the Programme of Action, identifying specific roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, with a view to ensuring that the commitments in favour of landlocked developing countries lead to concrete deliverables that would facilitate implementation of the Programme of Action and help landlocked developing countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

VIII.Network of national focal points

344

We note the network of national focal points of landlocked developing countries established by the Office of the High Representative and the convening of meetings of the national focal points on a regular basis. We also note that the national focal points designated by landlocked developing countries are heavily involved in the localization of the Vienna Programme of Action and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as their national implementation, monitoring, review and reporting of the Programme of Action. We invite the Office of the High Representative to further strengthen the network of national focal points of landlocked developing countries and convene annual meetings of the focal points to share experiences and best practices on mainstreaming the new Programme of Action and the Sustainable Development Goals into national development processes, as well as their implementation and follow-up; network among peers; and better understand existing means of implementation, including viable financing and business models.

345

We commit to ensuring synergy and coherence between the implementation of the Programme of Action and the 2030 Agenda and other ongoing and upcoming processes.

IX.Strengthening national statistical capacity

346

We recognize that high-quality, timely, relevant, disaggregated and reliable data will be needed to help with the measurement of progress and to ensure that no one is left behind. Such data are key to decision-making.

347

We note that national statistical institutions in landlocked developing countries remain underresourced, both financially and technically. The resulting scarcity of data and weak frameworks for monitoring and evaluation constrain the capacity for effective implementation and monitoring. The absence of robust reliable data also constrains the advocacy work to address the special circumstances of landlocked developing countries.

348

We commit to enhancing capacity-building support to developing countries, including for landlocked developing countries, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographical location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts.

X.Undertaking thematic review and analytical work

349

The Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States is requested to undertake thematic reviews of the progress on the Programme of Action, including cross-cutting issues, as and when appropriate.

350

The Office of the High Representative will continue to be responsible for coordinated substantive support to the global review of the Programme of Action, including through the following:

Following up on action taken at the national level on the basis of input from Governments, United Nations system agencies, civil society organizations and other relevant stakeholders;

Monitoring sectoral policy developments at the intergovernmental processes of relevant international and regional organizations;

Maintaining substantive contact with United Nations system organizations and other relevant international and regional organizations, as well as resident coordinators in landlocked developing countries;

Assisting the Secretary-General in his efforts in support of landlocked developing countries;

Supporting follow-up by landlocked developing countries at the global and sectoral levels;

Maintaining close collaboration and coordination with the regional coordinators system to ensure their full involvement in the implementation, mainstreaming follow-up and monitoring of the Programme of Action.

351

The Office of the High Representative will continue to monitor international policy developments of relevance to landlocked developing countries, including the outcomes of major global conferences, and carry out relevant advocacy efforts aimed at the effective and timely implementation of the Programme of Action.

352

The governing bodies of organizations in the United Nations system should conduct sectoral and thematic reviews of the Programme of Action, where appropriate, within their respective mandates.

353

We call for strengthening the International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries and for sharing experiences and know-how, and undertaking research and analytical works in the thematic priority areas of the Programme of Action.

XI.Role of the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

354

The Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States should strengthen its functions to undertake the following:

Assist the Secretary-General in the systematic and effective follow-up to and monitoring of the implementation of the Programme of Action and the full mobilization and coordination of all parts of the United Nations system, including through the use of data, with a view to facilitating the coordinated implementation of and coherence in the follow-up to and monitoring of the Programme of Action at the country, regional and global levels aligned with the 2030 Agenda;

Assist in mobilizing international support and resources for the implementation of the Programme of Action;

Strengthen its awareness-raising and advocacy work in favour of landlocked developing countries, in partnership with the relevant entities of the United Nations system, as well as other relevant stakeholders, including parliaments, civil society, the media and academia;

Undertake research and analytical works to provide substantive support to landlocked developing countries in group consultations and in their participation in other intergovernmental meetings and conferences, in order to facilitate science- and evidence-based decisions in favour of landlocked developing countries, taking into account new and emerging challenges and opportunities; to support the work of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the high-level political forum on sustainable development and the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination as it relates to landlocked developing countries; and to foster debate and innovative thinking, promote consensus on ways forward and coordinate efforts to achieve the implementation of the Programme of Action.

355

With a view to ensuring the effective implementation of the functions of the Office of the High Representative and strengthening its capabilities and effectiveness to support landlocked developing countries, as well as the effectiveness of the United Nations system support provided to landlocked developing countries, we request the Secretary-General to prepare a report, in consultation with Member States and the relevant specialized agencies, funds, programmes and regional commissions, taking into account the work done by the United Nations system, and to submit it with recommendations to the General Assembly for its consideration at its eightieth session.

XII.Midterm review and the Fourth United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries

356

The General Assembly is invited to consider conducting a comprehensive high-level midterm review of the implementation of the Programme of Action in 2029. The Assembly, towards the end of the decade, is also invited to consider holding, in 2034, a Fourth United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries in order to make a comprehensive appraisal of the implementation of the Programme of Action and to decide on subsequent action.

Paragraph content is machine-extracted from UN documents. For authoritative content, please refer to the official UN document.

Who created this mandate?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What does this mandate say?

Introduction

In quest of sustainable and resilient development in landlocked developing countries to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

Priority area 1: Structural transformation and science, technology and innovation

Priority area 2: Trade, trade facilitation and regional integration

Priority area 3: Transit, transport and connectivity

Priority area 4: Enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change and disasters

Priority area 1: Structural transformation and science, technology and innovation

I.Productive capacity development

II.Private sector development

III.Science, technology and innovation

IV.Industrialization

Priority area 2: Trade, trade facilitation and regional integration

I.International trade

II.Trade facilitation

III.Regional integration and cooperation

Priority area 3: Transit, transport and connectivity

I.Transit transport connectivity

II.Digital connectivity

III.Energy

Priority area 4: Enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change and disasters

I.Adaptation

II.Disaster risk reduction

III.Climate finance

IV.Resilient infrastructure development

V.Loss and damage

VI.Biodiversity loss

Priority area 5: Means of implementation

I.Domestic resource mobilization

II.Official development assistance and other sources of external finance

III.Foreign direct investment

IV.Remittances

V.Debt relief and concessional financing

Implementation, follow-up and monitoring

I.National reviews

II.Regional reviews

III.Global-level implementation

IV.Mainstreaming the Programme of Action

V.Full mobilization of the United Nations system

VI.Role of the Board of Advisers to the President of the General Assembly on Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States and the Group of Friends of Landlocked Developing Countries

VII.Preparation of a comprehensive road map and implementation and monitoring framework

VIII.Network of national focal points

IX.Strengthening national statistical capacity

X.Undertaking thematic review and analytical work

XI.Role of the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

XII.Midterm review and the Fourth United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries

Table of contents