Belarus backs August UN summit for landlocked states after call with Turkmenistan

Belarus will play an active part in next month’s United Nations conference for landlocked developing countries in Turkmenistan, Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhenkov told his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredov during a telephone call on Thursday.

Belarus’s foreign ministry said Mr Ryzhenkov “underlined the relevance” of the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3), set for early August in Turkmenistan, stressing the forum would help nations without sea access overcome transport and trade barriers.

“As a landlocked country, Belarus faces the same challenges as other nations in similar geographical conditions,” he said, adding that the Ashgabat meeting would be “an important opportunity to strengthen international cooperation.”

The ministers also reviewed bilateral ties, agreeing to step up political dialogue, hold regular inter-ministerial consultations and coordinate positions on regional and global issues, the statement added.

LLDC3 follows earlier summits in Almaty in 2003 and Vienna in 2014, which produced action plans aimed at cutting transit costs and improving infrastructure for the 32 UN-designated landlocked developing states.

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