From Aspiration to Action: LLDCs Forge a New Path at Pivotal UN Meeting

On the afternoon of September 26, 2025, during the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Ministers and High-Level Officials from the 32 Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) convened for a landmark Ministerial Meeting. Their collective presence underscored a shared geographic challenge—and an unwavering resolve to overcome it—under the theme: “From Aspiration to Action: Advancing Sustainable Development in LLDCs through the Awaza Programme of Action.”

The meeting was set against the backdrop of the newly adopted Awaza Programme of Action (APoA) for the Decade 2024–2034, a strategic blueprint shaped by lessons from its predecessor and energized by the momentum of the LLDC3 Conference held in Awaza, Turkmenistan, in August 2025. More than a policy document, the APoA emerged as a rallying call for the global community—including UN entities, international financial institutions, and transit countries—to align their efforts with LLDC priorities and help dismantle the barriers of high transport costs.

Setting the Stage: Voices of Leadership

The opening segment featured compelling interventions from key officials:

• Celinda Sosa Lunda, Foreign Minister of Bolivia and Global Chair of the LLDC Group

• H.E. Mr. Lok Bahadur Thapa, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

• Rabab Fatima, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS

• Ambassador Aksoltan Ataeva, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN

Their remarks framed the urgency and ambition of the meeting, setting a powerful tone for the discussions that followed.

Bolivia’s Call: Translate Framework into National Strategy

Setting the tone for the collective effort, Bolivia’s Foreign Minister Celinda Sosa Lunda, speaking as the Global Chair of the LLDC Group, framed the 2025 Ministerial as a critical turning point. She emphasized that the APoA provides a concrete framework to tackle unique LLDC challenges like high trade costs, infrastructure deficits, and climate vulnerability.

“The Awaza Programme of Action... is a forward-looking framework based on the realities of our countries. It addresses long-standing structural barriers, such as limited access to international markets, high trade and transport costs, low economic diversification, digital and infrastructure deficits, high debt burdens, and growing climate vulnerability,” Minister Sosa stated.

She urged a move "from aspiration to action" by translating the APoA into national strategies, strengthening partnerships, and mobilizing resources to ensure no LLDC is left behind in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

ECOSOC President: A Moment of Challenge and Opportunity

Echoing this sentiment, the President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), H.E. Mr. Lok Bahadur Thapa of Nepal, described the gathering as a pivotal moment of both challenge and opportunity. He pointed to the APoA as a "renewed momentum" to transform LLDCs' unique vulnerabilities into drivers of sustainable development.

While citing a "deeply challenging global environment" marked by high trade costs and mounting debt, President Thapa emphasized that the LLDC story is also one of "resilience, partnerships, and opportunity." On the 80th anniversary of the UN, he reaffirmed that multilateralism is the "cornerstone" of LLDCs' aspirations, concluding with a call for unity to move LLDCs from the margins of global trade to the center of a more inclusive future.

UN Leadership: A Roadmap for Implementation

UN Under-Secretary-General Rabab Fatima detailed the concrete steps being taken to turn ambition into tangible progress. Noting that the LLDC3 Conference was a highly inclusive gathering of over 5,700 participants, she announced that her office (OHRLLS) is already supporting implementation with a detailed roadmap of 319 activities across 39 UN entities and a toolkit to integrate the APoA into national plans.

“Now is our opportunity to transform the success of LLDC3 into sustained action. This will require strategic leadership, timely and effective implementation, and strong national ownership,” Fatima added.

Key deliverables include advancing an Investment Financing Facility to address the $500 billion infrastructure gap and establishing Regional Research Agriculture Hubs. She also highlighted that the upcoming UNCTAD 16 conference and COP 30 in Brazil would be pivotal opportunities to elevate the LLDC agenda.

Turkmenistan Reaffirms Its Role as a Key Facilitator

Ambassador Aksoltan Ataeva, the Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN, characterized the LLDC3 conference as a "turning point". She reaffirmed her country's commitment to the group's goals, stating, “The achievements of Awaza belong to all LLDCs. The task before us now is to transform these commitments into concrete progress for our peoples.”

Stressing that "implementation must be the central word," Ambassador Ataeva announced concrete offers, including Turkmenistan's consideration to host the new Investment Infrastructure Finance Facility and its offer to host the APoA Mid-Term Review Conference in 2030.

Delivering on the Decade of Action

As the first Ministerial Meeting following LLDC3, the event focused on translating commitments into action through national implementation and strengthened international partnerships. Key outcomes included:

• Adoption of a Ministerial Declaration affirming commitment to the APoA

• Reinforced political momentum for global solidarity

• Identification of priority areas for LLDC engagement in 2025–2026

• Endorsement of the LLDC Group Bureau for the 2025–2026 term

This milestone meeting laid the foundation for a decade of determined action—transforming the aspirations of the Awaza Programme of Action into tangible progress for the 32 LLDCs.

More on the event through this link.