Ministers of  Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), 16 of which are African, have called for stronger efforts to develop productive capacity and drive diversification through foreign direct investment (FDI), to set their countries on a growth path.

“Given the importance of FDI to this group of economies, more efforts should be made to increase and diversify foreign investments, and to maximize their impact on sustainable development outcomes,” said Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD Secretary-General at a high-level meeting on investment in LLDCs heard on the final day of the recently concluded World Investment Forum.

There are structural hurdles to unlocking growth in LLDCs, with economies of these countries facing persistent challenges linked to the negative impact that their geographical location has on trade opportunities. The Almaty Programme of Action has focused on actions needed for the further development of trade-related infrastructure and improvements in customs and in trade facilitation for LLDCs.

“Geography matters in FDI and trade, but it’s equally important not to overstate this factor. New technologies are changing the impact of traditional barriers,” said Ahmed Abtew Asfaw, Ethiopia’s Minister of Industry, who noted that technology was helping LLDCs to scale some of the growth-impeding structural hurdles they face.

The important role of technology was also underlined by Anat Bar-Gera, Chairman of YooMee Africa, an international telecommunications and Internet company. She said that the introduction of broadband in LLDCs can bring innovation, advance learning and spur enterprise development.

Regional collaboration is also important in helping LLDCs grow. Uganda is a perfect example of this, whose economy, its neighbours have been helping grow through the East African Community (EAC), the regional intergovernmental organisation of the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Uganda.

A report on the meeting will be made available to the participants of the Second UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, which starts in Vienna on 3 November 2014.