FOREIGN MINISTRY DEPARTMENT HEAD MAKES STATEMENT

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia /MONTSAME/ A director of the Department of International Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs N.Tulga delivered a speech at a meeting of the 2nd Committee of the United Nations General Assembly held on October 17 in New York, USA. A topic of his speech was about specific actions related to the particular needs and problems of landlocked developing countries: outcome of the International Ministerial Conference of Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries and Donor Countries and International Financial and Development Institutions on Transit Transport Cooperation. Mr Tulga said his delegation associates itself with the statement made by distinguished representative of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on behalf of the Group of LLDCs. He wished to express his delegation's appreciation to the Secretary-General for submitting a comprehensive analytical report (A/67/210) on the progress made in the implementation of the Almaty Programme of Action. "It is encouraging to note from the report that over the last years, the landlocked developing countries in collaboration with their transit neighbors and with the support of their development partners have registered certain progress in the priority areas of the Program," he said. "Landlocked developing countries have also strengthened their policy reform efforts, including the liberalization of transit and transport services, and harmonization of common rules and standards. Furthermore, we have observed certain improvements of the ODA allocated to the transport infrastructures, and communication sectors of LLDCs. "Despite this progress, LLDCs continue to face considerable challenges inherently linked to their geographical handicap and remoteness from international market. They have been among the hardest hit by the recent multiple crises, and still highly dependent on few sectors such as agriculture and mining, which overall makes them vulnerable to commodity price volatility, climate change and other external shocks. "These challenges do not only affect economic growth, but have major implications for social and environmental aspects of development, thus affecting the implementations of both the APA and respective MDGs of our Group countries. "In this regard, my delegation wishes to draw the attention to the last year's UNGA Resolution on the Agenda encouraging international communities and research institutions to develop a set of vulnerability indicators that can be used for early warning purposes and building resilience. "We believe that these indicators should cover not only economic and trade aspects, but also social and ecological aspects of landlocked developing countries. "As high transaction cost represents main cause for the marginalization of LLDCs from the international trading system, the current negotiations should, in our view, give particular attention to products originated from LLDCs. "Besides of the trade facilitation negotiations within the Doha Round, international community should also take into consideration the measures as highlighted by the Almaty Ministerial Declaration adopted at the Forth Meeting of Trade Ministers of LLDCs in last September. "We also encourage an expeditious implementation of the Aid for Trade initiative with targeted support for LLDCs in such areas as capacity building for the formulation of trade policies, implementation of trade facilitation measures and international agreements, investment into infrastructure for transport, and strengthened productive capacity with a view to increase their competitiveness in world markets. "As for the national implementation, Mongolia set up a national committee on trade and transport facilitation, composed of representatives of government, private sector, and NGOs as a nation-wide coordinator for the APA implementation. Also with an active participation of all relevant stakeholders we have been implementing a comprehensive sector development program entitled 'Transit Mongolia' which incorporates the APA priorities. "In addition to that Mongolian Customs has implemented the Customs Modernization Project, aiming at the improvement of the customs information, communication and technology system. As a result, National Single Electronic Window program has started with a view to sharing relevant data with the neighboring countries. "Last but not least, by hosting the International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries, I am pleased to inform that the Government of Mongolia is recently working on the allocation of the core funds for the institution-building and strengthening of its capacity for first few years and providing of an office space for the Think Tank within the common UN house in Ulaanbaatar," he said. He urged those landlocked developing countries that have not yet done so, to accede to or ratify the Multilateral Agreement on the Think-Tank at their earliest convenience, with a view to fully operationalizing its activity. In conclusion, Mr Tulga wished to express his delegation's willingness to work together with others to have a resolution focusing on the preparation for Review Conference on Almaty Programme of Action to be held in 2014. B.Khuder