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Trend News Agency (7 August 2025)

Aygun Baliyarli

The lack of access to the sea remains one of the main challenges for many developing countries. Without access to seaports, foreign trade becomes more complicated and costly. The transportation of goods takes longer, requires additional expenses, and often makes exports economically unfeasible. As a result, this slows down economic growth, reduces the competitiveness of products in the international market, and complicates the attraction of foreign investment.

According to the World Bank, due to high transportation costs and instability of transit systems, the Central Asian region loses up to two percent of its GDP annually. Logistics costs account for up to 60 percent of the total value of goods, which is several times higher than the global average. In other words, exporting from such countries is always more expensive than from coastal countries, even if the quality of the goods is the same.

These issues are the focus of the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, held from August 5 to 8, 2025, in Avaza, Turkmenistan. The conference discusses issues of fair market access, reducing logistics costs, and improving trade conditions for such countries.

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