Улаанбаатар
WTO publication on easing trade bottleneck in LLDCs virtually launched
Society
Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ A new publication ‘Easing Trade
Bottlenecks in Landlocked Developing Countries’ by the World Trade Organization
was virtually launched on December 8.
In her opening remarks, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
reiterated her commitment to promoting a more inclusive multilateral trading
system: “LLDCs face particularly acute versions of realities that all members
must grapple with, as complex emerging challenges, such as climate change,
threaten development possibilities and future prosperity. We must leverage the
potential of trade to meet these challenges. … We must also ensure that the
gains from trade are equally distributed. Enhancing integration into regional
and global value chains of women, youth and small businesses creates jobs and
opportunities, and helps reduce inequality.”
At the event, Mongolia’s Permanent Representative to WTO,
Ambassador L. Purevsuren noted that the challenges facing LLDCs are deepening
due to the negative effects of the pandemic, and introduced what LLDCs are
doing to mitigate these negative effects and draw the attention of the
international community to this issue. For instance, he underlined the issues
of including provisions related to LLDCs in the final document of the 12th WTO
Ministerial Conference, and a decision made by the WTO Trade Facilitation
Committee to hold a specific meeting to discuss LLDCs’ transit transport. He
also stressed the need of defining the LLDCs’ transit rights and obligations of
transit countries and adding them to WTO treaties and agreements.
There are currently 44 landlocked countries in the world. Of
these, 32 countries are classified as the Landlocked Developing Country (LLDC).
Caused by their common challenges such as lack of territorial access to the
sea, isolation from world markets, high transit costs and direct
dependency on transit countries, LLDCs represent only 1 percent of world trade.
