Since August 15, Avaza has been hosting the International Conference of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC).
According to the state information agency TDH, delegations from about 40 countries (represented by the ministers of transport) and more than 30 international organizations take part in the event in person and online.
The purpose of the forum is to analyze the progress of landlocked countries in the field of sustainable transport and related SDGs. Participants will discuss the role of transport in post-COVID-19 recovery and climate change mitigation.
The President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov , did not personally attend the conference, but sent a video message to the participants, in which he spoke about the importance of transport communication for world integration.
Referring to the pandemic, Berdimuhamedov noted that in the transport sector, the pandemic has particularly affected landlocked countries.
“Under these conditions, there is an urgent need to consolidate our efforts, to concentrate them on achieving prompt and obvious results,” the head of Turkmenistan said. Closing the country's borders, including for freight traffic during the pandemic, he did not mention, but called on the UN to give transport issues a permanent place on its agenda.
“The video address of the head of state was heard with deep attention and met with thunderous applause,” TDH writes .
Following Berdimuhamedov's address, other meeting participants spoke via video link and in person, including the UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States Rabab Fatima . All of them noted the importance of developing transport networks and maintaining supply chains.
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Botswana to the United Nations Collen Vixen Kelapile said that the closure of borders, the imposition of restrictions on the movement of goods and services during the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the already difficult situation of LLDCs and had a negative impact on the transport sector, which is a basic industry for international trade.
TDH notes that Turkmenistan, striving to become a major logistics center, sees the most promising routes as the Lapis Lazuli corridor, which connects Afghanistan with Turkey and Europe, the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, the China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia route passing through the Caspian -Turkey-Europe and the TRACECA international transport corridor passing through Turkmenistan in the direction of Europe-Caucasus-Asia.
Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan