Tariq Saeedi
The Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3), set to take place from August 5–8, 2025, in Awaza, Turkmenistan, under the theme “Driving Progress through Partnerships,” provides a critical platform to address the unique challenges faced by landlocked developing countries (LLDCs).
While LLDCs in Africa and Asia share common hurdles—geographic isolation, high trade costs, and reliance on transit neighbors—their economic contexts and potential solutions diverge significantly.
Asian LLDCs, buoyed by industrial bases and proximity to global economic powerhouses like China and Europe, are transitioning from landlocked to land-linked through robust infrastructure and trade networks.
African LLDCs, however, remain primarily connected within their continent, with limited access to global markets except through the Suez Canal. Let’s explore whether Asia’s solutions can be adapted for Africa, the role of the Suez connection to Middle Eastern markets, and additional strategies to unlock Africa’s economic potential.
Shared Challenges of African and Asian LLDCs
Landlocked developing countries in both Africa and Asia face structural barriers to global trade. Without direct access to seaports, they rely on transit through neighboring countries, incurring trade costs that are, on average, double those of coastal nations. This dependency on transit routes, often compounded by weak infrastructure, inefficient customs processes, and political instability in neighboring countries, stifles economic growth and limits integration into global value chains.
In 2019, the 32 LLDCs—16 in Africa and 10 in Asia-Pacific—housed approximately 570 million people, many of whom face poverty exacerbated by these geographic constraints. Both regions also contend with over-reliance on primary commodity exports, making their economies vulnerable to global market fluctuations.
Asia’s Path to Land-Linked Prosperity
Asian LLDCs, such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, benefit from unique advantages that facilitate their transformation into land-linked hubs. With the exception of Afghanistan and, to some extent, Mongolia, these countries possess established industrial bases, educated workforces, and the capacity to produce goods in demand globally, such as oil, gas, and manufactured products. Their strategic location between economic powerhouses—China to the east and Europe to the west—positions them to capitalize on burgeoning trade corridors like the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor) and the Lapis Lazuli Corridor.
Turkmenistan, for instance, is investing heavily in road and railway infrastructure to serve as a transit hub, supported by initiatives like the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. Digital solutions further enhance connectivity by streamlining cross-border transactions and reducing trade costs.
These developments are underpinned by rapid infrastructure growth and regional cooperation. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) reports that tools like the TIR Convention have reduced cross-border transport times by up to 80% and costs by 38% in Euro-Asian LLDCs. Such advancements enable Asian LLDCs to integrate into regional and global markets, leveraging their proximity to economic giants to drive sustainable development.
Africa’s Distinct Context
African LLDCs, including Botswana, Rwanda, and Zambia, face a different reality. Their trade is predominantly intra-African, with limited direct access to global economic powerhouses. The Suez Canal offers a potential link to Asia and Middle Eastern markets, but African LLDCs are geographically distant from these routes, relying on transit through coastal neighbors like Kenya, Tanzania, or South Africa.
Infrastructure deficits, such as underdeveloped rail and road networks, further hinder connectivity. For example, Rwanda’s trade is constrained by weak regional infrastructure, where investments in internal roads yield limited returns without corresponding upgrades in neighboring countries like Tanzania or Kenya.
African LLDCs also face challenges in export diversification. Many, like Zambia, rely heavily on minerals such as copper, which are subject to volatile global prices. Unlike Asian LLDCs, African nations often lack the industrial capacity and skilled labor to produce high-value goods for global markets. Political and economic instability in transit countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo for Zambia’s trade routes, adds further complexity.
Can Asia’s Solutions Work for Africa?
Asia’s success in transitioning from landlocked to land-linked offers valuable lessons for African LLDCs, but direct replication is impractical due to differing economic and geographic contexts. Below, we explore key Asian strategies and their potential adaptation for Africa:
Infrastructure Investment and Regional Corridors: Asia’s investment in transport corridors, such as the Middle Corridor, has enhanced market access. African LLDCs could emulate this by prioritizing regional economic corridors, such as the Northern Corridor (linking Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya) or the Walvis Bay Corridor (connecting Zambia to Namibia’s ports).
However, Africa’s corridors require significant upgrades. For instance, the World Bank notes that integrating railway infrastructure with extractive industries, as seen in Asia, could help African LLDCs achieve economies of scale. Mining companies in Zambia or the Democratic Republic of Congo could be incentivized to fund rail maintenance, reducing reliance on costly road transport.
Modification: African LLDCs must focus on multilateral funding and public-private partnerships, given limited domestic capital compared to resource-rich Asian LLDCs like Kazakhstan. The African Development Bank’s support for transit corridors in West Africa, such as those connecting Burkina Faso and Niger to Togo’s port of Lomé, serves as a model.
Digital Solutions for Trade Facilitation: Asian LLDCs leverage digital platforms to streamline customs and reduce transaction costs. African LLDCs could adopt similar technologies, such as electronic single-window systems, to improve customs efficiency. Rwanda’s digital leap, including its investment in e-commerce platforms, demonstrates potential for technology-driven trade facilitation.
Modification: African nations need tailored digital solutions to address low internet penetration and high ICT costs, which are exacerbated by their reliance on coastal neighbors for undersea cable access. Partnerships with organizations like the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) could help expand affordable connectivity.
Regional Cooperation and Transit Agreements: Asia’s LLDCs benefit from harmonized transit policies, such as the TIR Convention. African LLDCs could strengthen regional frameworks like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to reduce trade barriers and harmonize customs procedures. The West African transit corridor project, facilitating trade for Burkina Faso and Niger, illustrates the potential of regional cooperation.
Modification: Africa’s regional integration must address political tensions and inconsistent regulatory frameworks among transit neighbors, which are more pronounced than in Asia. Capacity-building for customs officials and standardized transit regimes, modeled on Europe’s TIR system, could mitigate delays.
The Suez Connection and Middle Eastern Markets
The Suez Canal offers African LLDCs a potential gateway to Asia and the prosperous Middle Eastern markets, but its significance is limited by geographic and infrastructural constraints. For countries like Ethiopia or Uganda, goods must traverse multiple transit countries to reach Suez-linked ports, incurring high costs and delays. However, the canal’s role in connecting Africa to Asia’s economic powerhouses and the Middle East’s growing consumer markets holds promise. For instance, Botswana’s diamond trade could target Middle Eastern markets via Suez, leveraging air freight to bypass some transit challenges, as suggested by economists at the Central Bank of Botswana.
To maximize this opportunity, African LLDCs should:
Develop Multimodal Transport Links: Invest in efficient road-to-port and rail-to-port connections to Suez-linked ports like Djibouti or Port Sudan. This requires coordination with coastal neighbors and international partners.
Focus on High-Value Exports: Prioritize goods like minerals, agricultural products, or niche manufactures (e.g., Ethiopian coffee) that appeal to Middle Eastern markets, reducing reliance on intra-African trade.
Leverage AfCFTA: Use the African Continental Free Trade Area to streamline trade routes to Suez, enhancing access to Asian and Middle Eastern markets.
However, the Suez connection alone cannot compensate for Africa’s lack of proximity to global economic powerhouses. Unlike Asian LLDCs, African nations face longer transit distances and higher costs, necessitating complementary strategies.
Additional Solutions for African LLDCs
Beyond adapting Asian models, African LLDCs can pursue tailored solutions to address their unique challenges:
Air Freight for High-Value Goods: Botswana’s success in diamond exports via air freight highlights a viable strategy for African LLDCs. By investing in air cargo infrastructure, countries like Rwanda or Malawi could reduce dependence on transit routes for high-value, low-volume goods like gemstones or pharmaceuticals.
Export Diversification and Value Addition: African LLDCs must move beyond primary commodities. For example, Zambia could invest in copper processing to produce higher-value goods, following the model of Asian LLDCs like Uzbekistan, which is diversifying beyond hydrocarbons. Technical assistance from UNCTAD could support value-added industries.
Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Climate change disproportionately affects African LLDCs, with droughts and floods disrupting trade routes. Integrating climate risk management into infrastructure planning, as UNDP is doing in Turkmenistan, could enhance resilience. For instance, flood-resistant roads in Chad or Mali could ensure consistent trade flows.
Financial Sector Modernization: Botswana’s efforts to modernize its financial sector offer a blueprint for attracting investment. African LLDCs could develop financial hubs to facilitate cross-border transactions, drawing inspiration from Asia’s use of digital finance to reduce trade costs.
Capacity Building and Education: Unlike Asian LLDCs with educated workforces, many African LLDCs face skill shortages. Investing in vocational training and STEM education, as Rwanda has done, can build human capital to support industrialization and trade.
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The LLDC3 conference in Turkmenistan offers a pivotal opportunity to reframe African and Asian LLDCs as land-linked hubs of economic potential.
While Asian LLDCs benefit from proximity to global markets, industrial bases, and emerging infrastructure, African LLDCs face greater isolation and infrastructural deficits. Adapting Asia’s solutions—such as regional corridors, digital trade facilitation, and transit agreements—requires modifications to address Africa’s unique challenges, including limited capital and political complexities.
The Suez Canal provides a strategic link to Asia and Middle Eastern markets, but its impact depends on enhanced multimodal transport and regional integration through AfCFTA.
Additional solutions, such as air freight, export diversification, climate-resilient infrastructure, financial modernization, and education, can further empower African LLDCs. By fostering partnerships, as emphasized by LLDC3’s theme, African nations can transform geographic constraints into opportunities for sustainable development, ensuring they are not left behind in the global economy. /// nCa, 30 July 2025