Georgia's Prime Minister emphasizes the nation's strategic significance at the UN Conference for Countries Facing Landlocked Development Challenges
Georgia Highlighted as Key Transit Hub at UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries
Georgia, a country strategically located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, is serving as a crucial transit route that supports international trade and economic integration. This was emphasized at the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3), held in Avaza, Turkmenistan, where Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze participated and delivered a speech.
The bilateral meeting between Kobakhidze and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov focused on the importance of regional cooperation in infrastructure and trade facilitation. The conference aims to promote regional partnerships and foster international cooperation, with a particular focus on the unique development challenges faced by countries without direct access to the sea (LLDCs).
Kobakhidze, representing the ruling party Georgian Dream, will highlight Georgia's strategic location and its role as a vital corridor between East and West. He will emphasize the significant connectivity opportunities that this position offers for the eight participating landlocked countries.
Georgia's infrastructure developments, such as the East-West Highway (including the recently upgraded E60 Highway), the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway, and major port facilities like the Poti Trans Terminal, enhance its capacity to efficiently move goods and passengers across the region. This infrastructure supports the so-called "Middle Corridor," a transport and logistics route between China, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and European markets.
The Middle Corridor provides a faster, secure, and cost-efficient alternative to traditional transit routes, which is especially important for LLDCs that depend on access to seaports for global trade. Developing multimodal transport corridors and streamlining customs procedures along routes like the Middle Corridor can reduce trade costs and foster sustainable economic development for LLDCs reliant on such corridors for market access.
Georgia's strategic emphasis is on balancing geopolitical influences by maintaining trade ties with the European Union, China, Turkey, and the United States. Despite some political and security challenges, Georgia views its linking function and infrastructure investments as central to its economic and regional influence, directly benefiting landlocked neighbors and contributing to the broader goal of enhanced connectivity between East and West.
The Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries brings together world leaders to discuss ways to address the challenges faced by LLDCs and to promote international cooperation for their sustainable development. With Georgia acting as a key transit hub in the Middle Corridor, it plays a critical role in facilitating trade and connectivity between Asia and Europe, supporting the development goals of landlocked countries by providing them with efficient access to global markets.
[1] Georgia Today [2] UN Conference on Trade and Development [3] Asia Times [4] World Bank [5] International Trade Centre
- The discussion at the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries underscores the importance of policy-and-legislation in facilitating the economic integration of landlocked developing countries, with Georgia being highlighted as a key transit hub for trade and collaboration, as reported by Georgia Today and other general-news sources.
- The Georgian Prime Minister, representing the Georgian Dream party, used his address at the UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries to emphasize the role of politics in fostering regional cooperation and the development of multimodal transport corridors, such as the Middle Corridor, as highlighted by the UN Conference on Trade and Development, Asia Times, World Bank, and International Trade Centre.
