By Racheal Ishaya
Addis Ababa – The UN Under-Secretary-General, Mr Gyan Acharya, said regional integration and cooperation was important for the development of landlocked developing countries through improved connectivity, enhanced competitiveness and trading capacity.
Acharya, who is also the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (LLDCs), said this at a side event during the Africa Development Week in Addis Ababa.
The side event was held under the title: “Enhancing Africa’s trade potential: The key role of trade and transport facilitation legal instruments.”
He said it was highly important for the continent to develop a legal framework for improved transit transport and trade facilitation, thereby reducing high trade costs.
“Africa is home to half of the 32 landlocked developing countries found globally.
“The LLDCs are hugely constrained by their geography, including remoteness from markets and lack of direct territorial access to the sea ports resulting in their inability to fully harness their full potentials.
“They, therefore, require very strong partnerships with neighbouring countries and other countries globally to assist with special measures and support that could assist them to end their marginalisation in the international trading system,” Acharya said.
He said addressing the trade related challenges of the LLDCs required a multi-dimensional approach from building physical infrastructure to reducing the trade costs.
Acharya said It was also important to address other supply-side constraints to increase the LLDCs’ trade competitiveness and improve the market access for their products.
He said his office would continue to work with member states to deepen regional integration, facilitate trade and competitiveness of LLDCs in international trade.
Acharya said this would help land locked countries to achieve a sustainable and inclusive economic growth that delivered decent jobs, accelerated poverty reduction and ensured no one was left behind in the global development process.
Also, Ms Fatima Acyl, Commissioner for Trade and Industry at the African Union Commission, urged member states to ratify the Trade and Transport Facilitation Agreement.
She said sub-Saharan Africa lagged significantly behind other regions in facilitating trade, hence ambitious customs reforms and trade facilitation programmes currently in the works on the continent.
She said trade facilitation was an African trade priority at the continental, regional and national levels. (NAN)