The development and progress of any country is the primary responsibility of that country itself. Landlocked developing countries have made efforts to mobilize domestic resources for the development of infrastructure and transit facilities, as well as for overall socioeconomic development. However, lack of adequate financial resources and capacity constraints are some of the biggest challenges facing landlocked developing countries in their efforts to achieve sustained growth and sustainable development. Landlocked developing countries and their transit neighbours need to effectively mobilize adequate domestic and external resources for the effective implementation of the present Programme of Action.
The support of development partners is needed to complement the efforts of landlocked developing countries to establish and maintain effective transit transport systems, integration into the world economy, structural transformation of their economies and enhancement of their productive capacities. Development partners are therefore encouraged to provide targeted technical and financial support, as appropriate, towards the implementation of the specific actions listed in the present Programme of Action. Development partners should also encourage private sector investment in landlocked developing countries that are implementing this Programme of Action.
Official development assistance flows remain a major source of external financing for many landlocked developing countries. It is important to urgently fulfil existing official development assistance commitments, and such assistance to landlocked developing countries should fully take into account the specific situation of each country. Development partners and multilateral organizations have a crucial role to play in supporting the efforts of landlocked developing countries to achieve sustainable development and the eradication of poverty.
Aid for trade plays a key role in assisting capacity-building for landlocked developing countries on the formulation of trade policies, the implementation of trade facilitation measures and the development of trade-related infrastructure, with a view to increasing the competitiveness of their products in export markets. Aid for trade, in combination with complementary policies, has contributed to lower trade costs, with additional infrastructure, better border institutions and regulatory procedures and enhanced capacities. Aid for trade, along with the commitment of landlocked developing countries to necessary reforms, is also important in linking to or moving up landlocked developing countries in the global and regional value chains.
South-South cooperation is not a substitute for, but rather a complement to North-South cooperation. South-South and triangular cooperation also have a role to play in increasing the growth and development of landlocked developing countries, as well as transit developing countries, through their contribution, as appropriate, to the sharing of best practices, human and productive capacity-building, financial and technical assistance and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms.
The implementation of the present Programme of Action would also require individual and concerted efforts by the organizations and bodies of the United Nation system, relevant international organizations, such as the World Bank, the regional development banks, the World Trade Organization, the World Customs Organization, the common funds for commodities, regional economic integration organizations and other relevant regional and subregional organizations. These organizations are invited to give priority to requests for technical assistance and capacity-building support from landlocked developing countries in the implementation of the present Programme of Action in a well-coordinated and coherent manner, within their respective mandates.
The private sector, including through foreign direct investment, also has a critical role to play in the implementation of the present Programme of Action, for example through building and strengthening productive capacity, export growth, technology transfer on mutually agreed terms, diffusion of productive know-how, managerial skill and capital, creation of wealth, the opening up of new markets for high-value added products and services and employment generation. Foreign direct investment can also play a key role in building the infrastructure that underpins economic activities.