Kathmandu, December 12

Minister for Commerce Meen Bahadur Biswakarma delivered a statement at the High level Meeting of Trade Ministers of Landlocked Developing Countries that took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the sidelines of the 11th Ministerial Conference of the WTO on December 10.

He highlighted the challenges the LLDCs have been facing in transport and transit connectivity which result in 20 per cent higher cost for them in doing business as compared to the coastal neighbours. He said narrow production base and low productivity, low economic growth, poor infrastructure and inadequate trade facilitation measures were some serious challenges facing LLDCs and underscored the need of unfettered transit transport and free access to the sea as an important measure to achieve their structural transformation.

Minister Bishwakarma raised the issue of downward trend of exports of LLDCs in the global market, which fell to 0.97 per cent in 2015 as compared to an average of 1.21 per cent maintained between 2011 and 2014. Biswakarma underlined the need of bilateral, regional and global partnership and cooperation to build seamless infrastructure, modern facilities for inspection of Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade compliance for smooth trade operation. Mainstreaming of the six priority areas of Vienna Programme of Action is the best means of addressing the special development needs of the LLDCs, he added.

While underscoring the need of support from the UN system to the International Think Tank for LLDCs, he underscored the need of development of grid transmission of clean energy, advancement of information and communication technologies, quality transit and transport infrastructures, including multi-modal transport connectivity and efficient trade facilitation measures which are fundamental for LLDCs in raising efficiency of doing cross-border trade.

Similarly, he attended the formal opening ceremony of the 11th Ministerial Conference, the highest decision-making body of the WTO, in which delegations from 164 WTO member countries, observer countries and representatives from international organisations participated.