Ban asks for more help to landlocked developing countries

United Nations, Oct 3 (PTI) U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked the international community to show generosity in helping the landlocked developing countries (L.L.D.C.s) of the world overcome their trade-hobbling isolation.

Ban urged the international community to extend the
same support to L.L.D.C.s as it did by pledging significant
funds to help poor states to achieve development goals last
week.

"Today we are sounding alarm bells for the Almaty
Programme of Action," he told a high-level Plenary Meeting of
the General Assembly devoted to a mid-term review of the
programme, a 2003 plan to compensate L.L.D.C.s for their
geographical handicaps with improved market access and trade
facilitation.

Although the 31 L.L.D.C.s of the world represent about
15 percent of states, their share of world exports has
remained well below one percent, according to U.N. figures.

Ban noted that the "alarm bells" he sounded last week
at the Assembly's High-Level Event on the Millennium
Development Goals (M.D.G.s), the ambitious targets set by the
U.N. Millennium Summit of 2000 to slash poverty, hunger,
preventable illness, all by 2015, sparked an "unprecedented
commitment" of as much as USD 16 billion.

"I hope for a similarly hope-inspiring response," he
said. "Let us use the success of the High-Level Event on the
M.D.G.s as inspiration for this review."

It is vital that landlocked developing countries
increase their volume of exports to meet the M.D.G.s, yet the
biggest obstacle to this is the very high cost of transport,
in some cases exceeding 70 per cent of the export value, Ban
told the opening session of the two-day meeting.

Despite some encouraging progress since 2003 in
improving transit transport policies, much more needs to be
done in infrastructure development as roads and railways
remain inadequate, and many ports use obsolete cargo handling
equipment, he said.

He asked to develop an integrated transport networks
and modernisation of customs operations in the landlocked
countries.

Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto said, "Geographical
realities coupled with critical infrastructure deficiencies,
as well as cumbersome border crossing procedures, continue to
pose daunting impediments to the external trade of landlocked
developing countries," he told the plenary.

"Today, high trade transaction costs remain the single
most important obstacle to the equitable and competitive
access by landlocked countries to global markets," he added.

Citing tangible progress, U.N. High Representative for
the Least Developed Countries, L.L.D.C.s and Small Island
Developing States (UN-HRLLS) Cheick Sidi Diarra said that
official development aid to L.L.D.C.s grew from USD 10.1
billion in 2000 to USD 16.1 billion in 2006. Direct investment
soared from USD 3.9 billion to USD 14 billion over last five
years.

Regional and sub-regional cooperation was also one of
the success stories, he said, citing the inter-Asian highway
and the strengthening of airports in Africa. The World Bank
reported that in 2007, landlocked countries spent an average
of 49 days for their exports to reach a seaport, down from 57
days in 2006. The time spent for importing decreased to 56
from 72.

But, he added, "It is increasingly recognised that
high transportation costs constitute a more important barrier
than tariffs."