Vienna to host UN conference on landlocked developing countries

This decision was made by delegates of the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly, UN News Center reported. The General Assembly welcomes and accepts with appreciation the offer of the Government of Austria to host the second UN Conference on developing countries in Vienna. Two sessions of the Preparatory Committee of the Conference will be held in New York on June 12-13 and October 2-3, 2014, according to AKI Press.

In its resolution, the General Assembly delegates referred to the Almaty Declaration and the Almaty Action Programme which were adopted in August 2003 in Kazakhstan at the International Ministerial Conference of landlocked states.

Almaty Action Programme was the first global instrument to address the special needs of landlocked developing countries. It contains specific measures and recommendations regarding policies in transit transport, infrastructure development and trade facilitation. The program provides financial and technical assistance to this group of states.