Awaza, Turkmenistan, 6 August 2025 (ECA) – Speaking at the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3), United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Mr. Claver Gatete, urged the international community to adopt bold and transformative measures to unlock the full potential of landlocked countries.
Sixteen of the world’s 32 LLDCs are in Africa, representing over 350 million people. Without direct access to the sea, these countries face high trade costs, longer transit times, and dependency on neighbouring transit countries’ infrastructure. Transport costs for African LLDCs can be up to 40% higher than for coastal states, while internet penetration stands at just 26%—less than half the global average. Together, they account for just 0.25% of global exports.
“The data tells a troubling story,” Said Mr. Gatete. “Structural challenges, like being landlocked, should not determine a nation’s economic fate. We must act—and act together.”
ECA outlined four priority areas to transform African LLDCs into landlocked countries and engines of growth:
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Deepening regional integration – Harnessing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a platform for industrialization, diversification, and integration into global value chains. ECA has supported 13 African LLDCs in developing National AfCFTA Implementation Strategies and is advancing value-added manufacturing, including the DR Congo–Zambia Battery and Electric Vehicle Special Economic Zone.
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Closing the infrastructure gap – No country can trade what it cannot transport. Achieving global benchmarks will require nearly 200,000 km of paved roads, 46,000 km of railways, and over half a trillion USD in investment. Through the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa and projects such as the LAPSSET Corridor, ECA is helping build cross-border transport, energy, and digital networks.
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Driving digital transformation – With the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol adopted in 2024, ECA stressed the urgency of bridging the digital divide to expand e-commerce and digital services. While mobile network coverage reaches 95% of the population, less than half have access to 4G.
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Mainstreaming climate resilience – ECA is helping LLDCs access adaptation finance, develop climate-smart infrastructure, and pilot innovative financing tools like debt-for-climate swaps.
Financing remains a major challenge, with LLDCs paying a premium for capital despite facing the highest development costs. Mr. Gatete called for greater private sector involvement, expansion of blended finance and SDG-aligned bonds, operationalizing the SDG Stimulus, and reforming the global financial architecture to account for vulnerability, not just GDP.
“This is not the time for incremental steps,” Mr. Gatete concluded. “The new Awaza Programme of Action must be bold, actionable, and transformative. ECA is committed to working with LLDCs, transit countries, the UN system, and all partners to ensure that no landlocked country is left behind.”
The LLDC3 Conference is a unique platform for member states, development partners, and the private sector to forge partnerships, share solutions, and mobilize the investments needed to transform LLDCs from landlocked to landlinked.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org