Question

What are ways that landlocked countries can overcome geographical challenges to facilitate trade and promote economic growth?

Answer 1

High prices have hit many countries around the world, but there is an extra burden on landlocked developing countries.
Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Burundi, and other non-port countries are paying more and waiting longer for imported oil, milk, and other goods And they have an equally difficult time exporting, resulting in less trading and growing slower than their coastal neighbours Being landlocked is a major reason why 16 of the 31 landlocked developing countries in the world are among the world's poorest, say three economists working on trade logistics issues at the World Bank.

The World Bank, the United Nations, landlocked countries, and donor countries are working together to try to reduce trade, growth, and development barriers faced by the least developed landlocked countries. Experts met in New York early this month to evaluate progress in the Almaty 10-year program launched in 2003 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The program calls on countries to increase transparency in transit and border laws, streamline administrative processes, and further simplify border control and procedures. It also emphasizes the importance of collaborative regional and sub-regional efforts to develop efficient transit systems.

Shipping costs are also a key component of food prices and, according to a World Bank paper published earlier this month at the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, they are "generally much higher" for many low-income countries than for advanced OECD countries. For example, trucking operators in oil-importing countries such as landlocked Zambia already paid as much as 50% more for fuel than in other countries of the world before the recent oil price jumps.

In addition, raising awareness of trade facilitation problems resulted in a significant reduction in the lead-time on most corridors for import and export. Time was reduced in ports or at borders–often dramatically, as illustrated by East Africa's example.Facilitation and logistics indicators such as the LPI or the Doing Business show that although the performance of LLDCs is lagging, they converge slowly to their transit neighbors ' performance levels.