Your Excellency, Mr. Cheick Sidi Diarra,
Your Excellency, Madam Laksmi Puri,
Madam Esperanza Duran,
Excellencies,
Distinguished representatives, guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am particularly honoured to represent my Government at this important to all of us High-level Meeting on Trade Facilitation and Aid for Trade: Keys for Unlocking the Landlocked.

The problems and constraints faced by landlocked countries have been discussed at various international fora. Our efforts are coming more and more into coherence following the Almaty Ministerial Conference (2003), the Asuncion Ministerial (2005), Ouagadougou Thematic Meeting (2007) and the Ulaanbaatar Ministerial and the Thematic Meeting (2007).

Trade policy of Mongolia, I would say, breaths through trade facilitation and the efforts to ease the adverse effects of being landlocked.

An important event was hosted by the Government of Mongolia and organized with the help of the UN-OHRLLS and UNDP in August last year. At this High-Level Meeting of LLDCs, we were able to review and consolidate the negotiating positions of LLDCs in the Doha Round, as well as share our experiences in overcoming constraints specific to our countries. The Meeting resulted, as we all know, in the adoption of Ulaanbaatar Declaration and the Chairman’s Summary.

Following our discussions during the Ulaanbaatar Meeting, the first ever “ LLDCs’ Network” is developed with the support of UNDP, UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, the Government of Paraguay, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Mongolia. The network is the first online discussion held among international organizations and government officials of 31 landlocked developing countries. The network now allows the delegates to utilize online dynamic library, conduct e-Discussions, share relative qualitative analysis and statistical data, in overall; a virtual online meeting hall has been established for the strengthening of their unified status at international level.

Let me briefly inform all of you on the feedback drawn from our online discussion.

As is the case, most LLDCs face severe cost disadvantages relative to their transit neighbours.  Some LLDCs, such as Burkina Faso, Uganda and Lesotho, have found niche markets and ways of exporting that hold important lessons for other LLDCs regardless of their level of development. These countries have worked hard to exploit natural comparative advantages, including in the relative cost of their labor and availability of natural resources, to build new markets. Improving domestic policies can help countries encourage investment in higher-value products (such as metals and minerals) or high value-added products and services (such as manufacturing niche products and delivering superior quality services).  

WTO’s Aid for Trade initiative that helps develop the capacity to supply these products (such as building or improving physical infrastructure, raising education levels to enable to compete on the markets) can help. Therefore, there is a strong case for expanding LLDC-specific assistance in the global Aid-for-Trade agenda through the Enhanced Integrated Framework and other multilateral and bilateral channels.  

The LLDCs noted the importance of a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round as they stand to gain increased access to markets around the world. There is a number of issues to be jointly pursued by LLDCs in terms of trade negotiations. In order to increase the role played by LLDCs in international trading system, thus, ensuring their fuller and more equitable benefits from globalization and trade liberalization, it is essential for LLDCs to keep on negotiating an instrument containing globally binding commitments to ensure the freedom of transit, the removal of transit transport impediments that undermine the LLDCs’ trade competitiveness, the improvements of overall trade conditions, and help them and their transit neighbours reduce the costs of transit.   Further, the participants highlighted that there is a number of agreements and issues in which LLDCs need to take greater role.

For this reason and other vital issues addressing the needs of LLDCs, one of the important insights to the situation of LLDCs during the Ulaanbaatar Meeting was made by the President of Mongolia, who noted the importance of enhancing LLDCs’ analytical capacity and helping them design and implement appropriate trade policies and trade-promoting measures, including trade development strategies and formulation of common positions in the WTO. As such, he proposed to consider setting up an international think-tank which could be located in Ulaanbaatar. For this purpose, he called on international organizations and donor countries to assist them in achieving this endeavour.

Points raised by participants in the e-discussion also indicated the need for more information and dialogue among different stake-holders, including politicians, professionals, as well as NGOs and for in-depth research, analysis, documentation and promotion of networking among the relevant parties.

I consider this Meeting today and here is an appropriate time and place to draw the attention of international organizations and donors to a possible think tank to be established in Ulaanbaatar. According to our proposal, the scope of work of the Think Tank would focus on research and analysis; organization of conferences and meetings among LLDCs, as well as other interested parties; organization of capacity building workshops; conducting an e-discussion with a view to maintaining a continuous dialogue among LLDCs; creation of a subject-specific website; and be responsible for public relations activities and disseminate information to different stakeholders on LLDCs.

In conclusion, I would like to express my Government’s deep appreciation to AITIC and the UN-OHRLLS for excellent organization of present High-Level Meeting here in beautiful city of Accra prior to UNCTADXII.

I wish every success for the High-Level Meeting.

Thank you.