EU Presidency Statement - Sixth Annual Meeting of the Landlocked Developing Countries

Statement by HE Sir Emyr Jones Parry, Permanent Representative of the UK Mission to the UN, on behalf of the European Union, Sixth Annual Meeting of the Landlocked Developing Countries, Security Council Open debate, New York

I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Country Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey and Croatia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

Mr President,

I welcome this opportunity to address the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries. The European Union and its member states maintain close ties with both individual members of your group and with your group as a whole, and we remain firmly committed to the implementation of the five priorities of the Almaty Plan of Action. We view this commitment to address the particular needs and problems of landlocked countries as part of our commitment to the wider development agenda. The important events of last week, during which the global community reaffirmed its commitment to international development and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, provide us with a substantive basis on which to build further, including creating an environment, at the national and global levels, conducive to the development of landlocked developing countries.

The European Union recognises that lack of territorial access to the sea and geographical remoteness, leading to isolation from the world's markets, are significant factors contributing to poverty in landlocked developing countries. As the UN General Assembly noted last year, prohibitive transport costs and increased risks are imposing serious constraints on export earnings, private capital inflow and domestic resource mobilisation. The EU therefore strongly encourages landlocked - and neighbouring transit - countries to consider giving priority in their development planning to transit systems and policy, communications, financial and technical assistance for infrastructure construction, and maintenance and improvement of existing transport and storage facilities. In particular, the EU supports inclusion of transit and infrastructure projects into your national development strategies, including, where appropriate, PRSPs.

Another important aspect of increasing landlocked countries' access to world markets - and a key objective of the Almaty Plan of Action - is through liberalisation of world trade. We welcome your initiative in holding a meeting of landlocked developing countries' trade ministers in Asuncion last month. The European Union very much looks forward to working closely with you for the remainder of the Doha World Trade Round, in particular, in the run-up to the crucial Hong Kong Ministerial meeting in December. We believe that it will be possible - and important - for good progress to be made in Hong Kong to bring the Doha Round to an early and successful conclusion in all areas of negotiation - including on trade facilitation and other rules aspects, services, and agricultural and non-agricultural products.

In this context, I wish to underline the importance of the negotiations on trade facilitation, which aim to improve WTO rules and, in parallel, technical assistance and capacity-building in this field. While all WTO members stand to benefit from the successful conclusion of the negotiations, landlocked developing states are perhaps in a position to gain the most, as trade facilitation overcomes the risk of isolation from world markets.

Mr President,

The European Union welcomes the progress that has been made thus far in implementing the Almaty Plan of Action. It is clear that the key to progress is through sub-regional, regional and inter-regional programmes and co-operation, including enhanced regional economic integration. It is therefore encouraging to note that regional and sub-regional organisations are playing a useful role in promoting economic activity, through regional co-operation initiatives and agreements between landlocked developing countries and neighbouring transit states. For example - and I note that the majority of landlocked and transit developing countries are in Africa - NEPAD is providing a valuable framework for regional transport development. But there is also a role for the donor community. The European Union provides, through its Economic Partnership Agreements, financial and technical assistance for transport infrastructure and services, for policy development, and for regional transport networks. We are currently supporting a series of projects in landlocked developing countries to simplify border crossing, and to help building an efficient transit and transport system. In West Africa, for example, we provide financial support to the ECOWAS regional road transport and transit programme. In Central Asia, we provide support for important infrastructure works aimed at developing a transport corridor on a west-east axis from Europe, across the Black Sea, through the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea to Central Asia. We look forward to further co-operation with you in these fields.

Mr President,

The European Union welcomes the opportunity for continued consideration of the interests of landlocked developing countries during the sixtieth session of the UN General Assembly. We are grateful to the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States for its efforts in co-ordinating the UN system in this regard. We look forward to receiving in due course the Secretary-General's report on progress in implementing the Almaty Programme of Action.


* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

| Top |