ECA/ The African Regional High-Level Review Meeting of the Vienna Program of Action addresses the challenges of LLDCs | www.l-integration.com – INTEGRATION

228 Views

Botswana to host the African Regional High Level Review Meeting of the Vienna Program of Action to Address the Challenges Facing LLDCs. The United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), together with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Botswana, will hold an African Regional High Level Review Meeting of the Vienna Program of Action (VPoA) for Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs).

The meeting will be held under the theme, “From Vienna to Kigali: Towards a New Decade of Partnerships for a Transformative Agenda for LLDCs”, in Gaborone, Botswana, from 29-30 May 2023. The outcomes of this meeting will feed into the preparatory process for the Third UN Conference on LLDCs to be held in 2024. The Conference will review the implementation of the Vienna Program of Action for LLDCs for the decade 2014-2024, and formulate and adopt a renewed framework for international support to meet the specific needs of LLDCs.

LLDCs are considered landlocked countries and their isolation from global markets and high transit costs impose serious constraints on their socio-economic development. The maritime trade of DSL must almost always pass through other countries, developing countries for the most part; a process that involves managing cumbersome border crossing procedures and inadequate transit transport infrastructure. Although DSLs face other development challenges, they also face substantial increases in trade and transport costs due to their geographic location.

Of the 32 LLDCs in the world, 16 are in Africa, and 13 of them are also listed as Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Recognizing the complex challenges faced by LLDCs, in 2014 the international community adopted the Vienna Program of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries. This is a ten-year action plan aimed at accelerating sustainable development in LLDCs.

The Vienna Program of Action consists of a set of six priority areas for action: core public transport policy issues; infrastructure development and maintenance; international trade and trade facilitation; regional integration and cooperation, structural economic transformation and means of implementation. These priority areas are designed as a holistic approach to the particular challenges facing LLDCs that over the years have hindered their economic transformation, as well as their inclusive and sustainable growth.

The objectives of the African Regional Review Meeting of the VPoA are:

• Undertake a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Vienna Program of Action in Africa, including the identification of achievements, constraints, emerging challenges and opportunities (including those brought about by the creation and deployment of the AfCFTA ) to achieve sustainable development and the SDGs and Agenda 2063 in LLDCs;

• Identify alternative and innovative sources of finance (including trade finance) that could be tapped and used for VPoA implementation and provide guidance on how LLDCs can access resources;

• Share best practices, experiences and innovative approaches, and

• Identify appropriate policy measures and concrete action-oriented recommendations at national, regional and global levels aimed at addressing the particular challenges of LLDCs and accelerating their progress towards sustainable development over the next decade.

The keynote speakers at the conference are:

• Mr. Antonio Pedro, Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa;

• Mr. Mmusi Kgafela, Member of Parliament, Minister of Trade and Industry, Botswana;

• M^me Rabab Fatima, Assistant Secretary-General and High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), Secretary-General of the Third United Nations Conference on LLDCs.

The two-day meeting will bring together ministers and senior officials from ministries dealing directly with the implementation of the VPoA and related issues of transit, trade, infrastructure development, structural economic transformation and finance of the 16 African LLDCs. The meeting will also include representatives of transit countries in the region and development partners as well as the United Nations system, relevant regional and sub-regional organizations, other international organizations, regional and international financial institutions; as well as the private sector.