Strengthening the capacity of Landlocked Developing Countries under the “Belt and Road Initiative” to design and implement policies that promote transport connectivity for the achievement of the SDGs 

UN-OHRLLS implemented a project, entitled “Strengthening the capacity of Landlocked Developing Countries under the “Belt and Road Initiative” to design and implement policies that promote transport connectivity for the achievement of the SDGs”, with effect from November 2018 to October 2021. 

UN-OHRLLS implemented the project in partnership with DESA, ESCAP, ECA, ECLAC, ECE, Ministry of Transportation of China, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and African Development Bank. In 2019, the project contributed to the preparations of the comprehensive midterm review of the Vienna Programme of Action. 

The project’s overall objective was to design and implement policies that promote transport connectivity for the achievement of the SDGs under the “Belt and Road Initiative,” with specific goals to improve LLDCs’ trade potential and integration into global markets, and to enhance productive capacity and structural transformation of LLDCs’ economies and overall socio-economic development. 

The LLDCs’ connectivity has been poor partly because of inadequate transit infrastructure in terms of both quantity and quality and the flow of LLDC transit transport is affected by poor trade facilitation at the borders, between the borders and beyond the borders. There has also an investment infrastructure gap that exists in LLDCs in all regions and a heightened need for the LLDCs to nurture enabling environments that can help attract private investments into transport infrastructure development and maintenance, foster efficient use of available resources and scale up trade facilitation. This project intended to help the LLDCs and transit countries to build capacity that can enable them to design policies to build hard and soft infrastructure that is key to improved connectivity to global markets. 

The project undertook an assessment or review of the existing status of LLDC connectivity by undertaking 3 regional studies that were synthesized into a global report on improving transport connectivity for LLDCs and building of resilient transport infrastructure to support accelerated progress of the SDGs. 

EVALUATION

At the conclusion of the project, UN-OHRLLS undertook an evaluation that showed the Office has been successful in strategically using its convening power in building partnerships and mobilizing a range of global stakeholders to lay building blocks for improving transport infrastructure and connectivity in beneficiary Member States.

Whilst a promising head start had begun through the project intervention of training and capacity building, there is room for developing more substantive and sustainable relationships with Member States and regional training centres in LLDCs and transit countries to deliver more substantive results which are relevant for the SDGs.

Within the framework of a limited funding base, the project successfully initiated support in the form of technical assistance for transport infrastructure and connectivity for LLDCs and transit countries, through a multi-stakeholder approach. However, the support was limited because of unforeseen developments such as COVID-19.

Download the full project evaluation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Sub-Fund of the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund (UNPDF) generously provided funding for the project: Strengthening the capacity of Landlocked Developing Countries under the “Belt and Road Initiative” to design and implement policies that promote transport connectivity for the achievement of the SDGs.