On September 26, in New York, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahan Kostanyan delivered remarks at the 23rd Annual Ministerial Meeting of Landlocked Developing Countries, held under the theme "Building momentum towards Gaborone: Partnering for a Decade of Action and Transformation in LLDCs".

"Distinguished Mr. Chair,

Excellencies,

I thank Honorable Dr. Lemogang Kwape, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Botswana, for organizing this meeting and for Botswana’s leadership as the Global Chair of the Group of LLDCs.

I also thank H.E. Mr. Philemon Yang, President of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, and H.E. Mr. Robert Rae, President of the ECOSOC, for their remarks earlier today.

We highly appreciate the work of High Representative Rabab Fatima in keeping the needs and priorities of the LLDCs high across the UN Agenda.

In a couple of months in Gaborone, we will adopt a new Programme of Action for LLDCs. The new document takes into consideration the lessons learnt from the Vienna Programme of Action and outlines concrete deliverables, with a focus at increasing the resilience of LLDCs against global shocks.  

However, achieving tangible progress on five priority area/s of the new Programme of Action will be a daunting task in the face of multiple global crises, conflicts, surging inflation and public debt, energy and food price increases, impact of climate change. 

The international community and the UN system should consolidate their efforts to help LLDCs to translate the new Programme of Action into concrete results on the ground. A particular attention should be paid to such areas as trade facilitation, digitization, increasing foreign direct investments, support in debt relief and ensuring sustainable development financing for LLDCs.

As a country that has been suffering from geographical constraints exacerbated by the complex geopolitical environment in the region, Armenia realizes the crucial importance of inclusive connectivity, open borders, fully-functioning transport infrastructure for the integration of the landlocked countries into global markets.  

With this understanding, Armenia, jointly with the Office of the High Representative, hosted a Ministerial Meeting of LLDCs in December last year in Yerevan under the theme “Enhancing equitable, affordable and inclusive transport connectivity as a driver for sustainable and resilient economies”. The Yerevan Statement highlighted the strategic importance of enhancing equitable, affordable and inclusive transport connectivity, strengthening global partnerships for increasing trade in LLDCs and deepening regional integration.

During the event, the initiative of the Government of Armenia “Crossroads of Peace” was presented by the Prime Minister of Armenia. Guided by the vision of comprehensiveness, inclusiveness, non-discriminatory use of regional routes, this project aims at development of communications between the countries of the region, with full respect for state sovereignty, territorial integrity and principles of equality and reciprocity.

These communications could restore the region’s significance in terms of international cargo transportation, in particular, providing transit for East-West and North-South trade interactions.  I am confident that through joint efforts we can contribute significantly to the establishment of a conducive environment for a better and prosperous future for all countries of our region.

Excellencies,

Armenia has nominated its candidature for the Chair of the Group of LLDCs position for the term 2025-2026. In doing so, we have acted in a constructive and transparent manner, strictly following the guidance of the Chairmanship of the Group. Throughout the past period, as a member of the Bureau of the LLDCs and Core drafting team, Armenia has actively engaged in advancing the priorities of the LLDCs and contributed to the process of preparation of the Programme of Action.

We hope that the country, which has presented its candidature at the very last stage at the expense of blocking the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration, will demonstrate good faith and refrain from politicizing the LLDC agenda.

We count on the support of the Group to Armenia’s candidature and reiterate our firm commitment to maintain a collaborative approach with all Group members to advance our common goals and priorities.

We once again express our full support to Botswana and the Office of the High Representative in preparations to the Third UN Conference on LLDCs and look forward to fruitful discussions aimed at building a sustainable and prosperous future for landlocked developing countries.

I thank you”.