On August 16, the two-day International Conference of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC) concluded in Turkmenistan on the development of logistics routes and their role in post-pandemic recovery, as well as climate change mitigation. The event was held in the national tourist zone "Avaza".
The forum ended with the adoption of a final statement by LLDC Ministers of Transport, which notes the following:
• not all LLDC countries have fully achieved the Sustainable Development Goals; the recovery of the transport system after the COVID-19 pandemic in these countries lags behind the global one;
• The pandemic has slowed down the pace of transport infrastructure development in LLDCs. The closure has disrupted global supply chains and exposed vulnerabilities in landlocked countries;
• The international community should strive to at least double annual investment in LLDC infrastructure development. Before the pandemic, the total funding gap was estimated at $510 million, and has widened even more over the past two years. External financing is becoming more difficult due to the slowdown in global economic growth and the lack of resources caused by the pandemic;
• Conference participants reaffirmed their readiness to take measures to facilitate transit traffic and trade, including reducing travel time along transport corridors and waiting times at land borders;
• About a third of CO2 emissions come from the transport sector. LLDCs need help to transition to low-carbon energy sources and technologies. In addition, these countries are in dire need of investment in climate resilient infrastructure.
During the conference, representatives of Turkmenistan held a number of meetings and signed the following documents:
• Agreement between Turkmenistan and Moldova on international road traffic;
• Memorandum of Understanding between the Transport and Communications Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan and the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation;
• Memorandum of Understanding between the Türkmendenizderýaýollary (Turkmen Sea and River Routes) Agency of Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan and the Maritime Transport Agency of Georgia.
Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan