Kathmandu. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is leaving for Turkmenistan today to participate in the third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC).
The Prime Minister’s Secretariat has stated that the delegation led by Prime Minister Oli will leave for Turkmenistan via Dubai on Sunday night at 11:55 pm on a FlyDubai flight.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had met President Ramchandra Poudel on Saturday and informed him about his visit to Turkmenistan.
Prime Minister Oli is going to the conference to be held in the city of Avaza from August 5 to 8 at the formal invitation of Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Prime Minister Oli is also scheduled to address the conference as the Chairman of the Global Coordination Bureau for Least Developed Countries. He is scheduled to co-chair a high-level roundtable meeting of the conference and address various other programs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.
Nepal is also currently the chair of the LLDCs. The conference, which will be attended by 32 landlocked developing countries located in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America with a population of about 440 million, will discuss issues related to the lack of direct regional access to the sea and their remoteness and isolation from the world market.
Since the international trade of these countries depends on transit through other countries, the conference will focus on increasing the competitiveness of landlocked developing countries, as additional border crossings and long distances from major markets, cumbersome transit procedures and inadequate infrastructure significantly increase the total cost of transport and other transaction costs.
On the occasion of the conference, Prime Minister Oli will meet with the heads of delegations of various countries and high-ranking officials of the United Nations and other international organizations.
His visiting team will include Mrs. Radhika Shakya, Chief Advisor Bishnu Prasad Rimal, Member of the House of Representatives Surya Bahadur Thapa Chhetri, Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Rajesh Bajracharya, Personal Physician Prof. Dr. Divya Singh Shah, Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amrit Bahadur Rai, high-ranking government officials, official media personnel and security personnel. Prime Minister Oli is scheduled to return home on the night of 23rd of this month.
Landlocked developing countries are struggling with international trade, connectivity and economic development due to lack of direct territorial access to the sea.
Isolated from global markets and without the means to develop adequate transport and food infrastructure, this is the third conference to be held in a context where landlocked developing countries are facing serious challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The conference is expected to help address these challenges through innovative solutions, strategic partnerships and increased investment and assess the full potential of these countries.
The Second United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries was held in Vienna, Austria, from 3 to 5 November 2014. The conference reviewed the implementation of the Almaty Platform for Action and discussed the issues of international, regional, subregional and national trade and transit transport cooperation policies and transit transport systems, in the context of partnerships and opportunities to address new and emerging challenges. (RSS)