Introduction

to

a

proposal
to governments of world landlocked countries

for formation of

“World Landlocked Countries Association”

A landlocked state or country is a sovereign state entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are currently 48 such countries, including four partially recognized states.

As a rule, being landlocked creates political and economic handicaps that access to the high seas avoids.

Economic Vulnerability of Landlocked States:

The landlocked countries face many problems and challenges regarding its landlocked geographical locations. The neighboring coastal countries of the landlocked country usually exploit the landlocked position of these countries. Despite of the UN Convention Treaty for landlocked countries in 8^th July 1965 these countries are usually exploited by their neighboring coastal countries.

The aim and vision of the “World Landlocked Countries Association”

The aim and vision of the “World Landlocked Countries Association” is to always

take a united stand on the chronic issues it faces regarding transit trade, exports, imports and general economic sector. The association will be the collective forum of world landlocked countries to bring their issues to a joint plat form for solutions.

The responsibility of “World Landlocked Countries Association”

The responsibility of “World Landlocked Countries Association” will be to regularly meet every year by the foreign ministers of each member country in a form of summit. The economic issues facing the landlocked countries especially the trade and investments will be discussed in such an annual summit. Ways and means will be collective find out by the foreign ministers of the summit regarding issues of each member country.

Taking initiatives to build road and rail connections to sea ports by joint partnership of landlocked and coastal country

The well paved road and rail connections to seaports by landlocked country is the only economic prosperity hope. A special attention should be made of making such planning a possibility. The road and rail connection of landlocked country to its neighboring country coastal areas or seaports is the mutual economic benefit of both countries. Both of the countries investors need to come-up to this planning and make it a success.

Building high technology modern seaports to bridge (landlocked & coastal) country economy

Construction, operation and installation of modern high-tech seaports will be able to bridge the economy of both landlocked and coastal country. These seaports can transform economical development of both of such countries. Thus the aim of the association is to prepare both countries (landlocked & coastal) to bring up with the collective motto of economic prosperity with is the greatest possibility.

Connecting both countries (landlocked & coastal) to oil and gas pipelines connections

Energy needs are growing by the landlocked country for its industrial and household consumption. Those landlocked countries which have no any natural reserves/resources of oil and gas are heavily dependent of coastal countries cooperation. The master planning of oil and gas pipeline project can benefit both (landlocked & coastal) countries.

Many economic challenges are facing by Landlocked Developing Countries

The objective of association will be to convince both (landlocked & coastal) countries that the joint development projects can be economic benefit to both countries

The development projects like rail, road up-gradations, seaports development, oil & gas pipelines installations all are the joint development projects of both (landlocked & coastal) countries. If both of the countries benefit equally then it can only be the source of regional economic and political stability and integrity.

Convincing, appealing for cooperation of any coastal country which do not cooperate with the landlocked country regarding development of trade, investments and mutual developmental projects.

The main milestone of the association will be to convince, prepare and compel any coastal country which is not sincere with the economic development of any landlocked country. As the association is the sole representative of the landlocked countries issues. So the association will do its best to work for the interests and benefits of its member landlocked countries.

The Association will not left any landlocked country alone in any economic issues facing it. All the member countries of the association will stand alongside with the interests and demands of the landlocked country. The benefit of the landlocked countries is much more in its membership as any landlocked country will not be left anymore isolated in its chronic economic and developmental issues.

Developed landlocked countries will be source of cooperation for the developing landlocked countries through association

Economically developed landlocked countries like Switzerland, Czech Republic, Austria, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Andorra will be a source of cooperation for the developing & economically poor landlocked countries of Africa and Asia. The economically developed landlocked countries have made efforts to minimize their economic issues and have a leadership position to lead the developing landlocked countries of the world. This is the better friendly opportunity for the developed landlocked countries to come up partnering with the poor and developing landlocked countries of the world.

Association will change economic disadvantages of being landlocked to economic prosperity:

The economic disadvantages of being landlocked can be alleviated or aggravated depending on degree of development, language barriers, and other considerations. Some historically landlocked countries are quite affluent, such as Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein, all of which frequently employ neutrality to their political advantage. The majority, however, are classified as Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs). Majority of these countries with the lowest Human Development Index (HDI) are landlocked.

Historically, being landlocked has been disadvantageous to a country's development. It cuts a nation off from such important sea resources as fishing, and impedes or prevents direct access to seaborne trade, a crucial component of economic and social advance. As such, coastal regions tended to be wealthier and more heavily populated than inland ones. Paul Collier in his book The Bottom Billion argues that being landlocked in a poor geographic neighborhood is one of four major development "traps" by which a country can be held back.

Landlocked developing countries have significantly higher costs of international cargo transportation compared to coastal developing countries. This is a major economic challenge to a landlocked country.

Efforts to avoid:

Countries thus have made particular efforts to avoid being landlocked, by acquiring land that reaches the sea:

As result of a 2005 territorial exchange with Ukraine, Moldova received a 600m-long bank of the Danube River (which is an international waterway), subsequently building its Port of Giurgiule there.

The International Congo Society, which owned the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, was awarded a narrow piece of land cutting through Angola to connect it to the sea by the Conference of Berlin in 1885.

The Republic of Ragusa once gave the town of Neum to the Ottoman Empire because it did not want to have a land border with Venice; this small municipality was inherited by Bosnia and Herzegovina and now provides limited sea access, splitting the Croatian part of the Adriatic coast in two. Since Bosnia and Herzegovina is a new country, railways and ports have not been built for its need. There is no freight port along its short coast line at Neum, making it effectively landlocked, although there are plans to change this. Instead the port of Ploce in Croatia is used.

Trade agreements

Countries can make agreements on getting free transport of goods through neighbor countries:

The Treaty of Versailles required Germany to offer Czechoslovakia a lease for 99 years of parts of the ports in Hamburg and Stettin, allowing Czechoslovakia sea trade via the Elbe and Oder rivers. Stettin was annexed by Poland after World War II, but Hamburg continued the contract so that part of the port (now called Moldauhafen) may still be used for sea trade by a successor of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic.

The Danube is an international waterway, and thus landlocked Austria, Hungary, Moldova, Serbia, and Slovakia have secure access to the Black Sea (the same access is given to inland parts of Germany and Croatia, though Germany and Croatia are not landlocked). However, oceangoing ships cannot use the Danube, so cargo must be transloaded anyway, and many overseas imports into Austria and Hungary use land transport from Atlantic and Mediterranean ports. A similar situation exists for the Rhine river where Switzerland has boat access, but not oceangoing ships. Luxembourg has such through the Moselle, but Liechtenstein has no boat access, even though it is located along the Rhine, as the Rhine is not navigable that far upstream.

The Mekong is an international waterway so that landlocked Laos has secure access to the South China Sea (since Laos became independent from French Indochina). However, it is not entirely navigable due to the Khone Phapheng Falls.

Free ports allow transshipment to short-distance ships or river vessels.

The TIR Treaty allows sealed road transport without customs checks and charges, mostly in Europe.

Urgent actions are need at organized level

Political repercussions

Losing access to the sea is generally a great blow to a nation, politically, militarily, and particularly with respect to international trade and therefore economic security:

The independence of Eritrea, brought about by successful separatist movements, has caused Ethiopia to become landlocked.

Montenegro's decision to abandon the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro caused the federal unit of Serbia to become a landlocked independent state.

Bolivia lost its coastline to Chile in the War of the Pacific and accepted it in treaties signed in 1884 and 1904. The last treaty gives port storage facilities and special treatment for the transit of goods from and to Bolivia through Chilean ports and territory. Peru and Argentina have also given special treatment for the transit of goods. A fluvial Bolivian Navy, which did not exist at the time of the War of the Pacific, was created later and both train and operates in Lake Titicaca and rivers. 

Need to time is landlocked/coastal country partnership

The Bolivian people annually celebrate a patriotic "Dia del Mar" (Day of the Sea) to remember its territorial loss, which included both the coastal city of Antofagasta and what has proven to be one of the most significant and lucrative copper deposits in the world. Early in the 21st century, the selection of the route of gas pipes from Bolivia to the sea fueled popular uprisings, as people were against the option of laying the pipes through Chilean territory.

Austria and Hungary also lost their access to the sea as a consequence of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) and the Treaty of Trianon (1920) respectively. Previously, although Croatia had a limited constitutional autonomy within the Kingdom of Hungary, the City of Fiume/Rijeka on the Croatian coast was governed directly from Budapest by an appointed governor as a corpus separatum, to provide Hungary with its only international port in the periods 1779–1813, 1822–1848 and 1868–1918.

Roads from Landlocked to Coastal countries is need of time

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea now gives a landlocked country a right of access to and from the sea without taxation of traffic through transit states. The United Nations has a programme of action to assist landlocked developing countries, and the current responsible Undersecretary-General is Anwarul Karim Chowdhury. Though there are still many problems of the landlocked counries to be resolved. The joint Association will help to address these issues in a better way.

Some countries have a long coastline, but much of it may not be readily usable for trade and commerce. For instance, in its early history, Russia's only ports were on the Arctic Ocean and frozen shut for much of the year. The wish to gain control of a warm-water port was a major motivator of Russian expansion towards the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Pacific Ocean. On the other hand, some landlocked countries can have access to the ocean along wide navigable rivers. For instance, Paraguay (and Bolivia to a lesser extent) have access to the ocean by the Paraguay and Parana rivers. There is still a joint action needed by the landlocked countries to address these issues.

Several countries have coastlines on landlocked seas, such as the Caspian, Dead, and the Aral. Since these seas are in effect lakes without access to wider seaborne trade, countries such as Kazakhstan are still considered landlocked. Although the Caspian Sea is connected to the Black Sea via the man-made Volga-Don Canal, large oceangoing ships are unable to traverse it.

By degree

Landlocked countries may be bordered by a single country having access to the high seas, two or more such countries, or be surrounded by another landlocked country (making a country doubly landlocked):

Let connect landlocked and coastal country in better way

Landlocked by a single country:

Three countries are landlocked by a single country:

 Lesotho, a state surrounded by South Africa. San Marino, a state surrounded by Italy. Vatican City, a state forming part of Rome, thereby surrounded by Italy.

Landlocked by two countries:

Seven landlocked countries are surrounded by only two mutually bordering neighbors:

 Andorra (between France and Spain)

 Bhutan (between India and China)

 Liechtenstein (one of the "doubly landlocked" countries, between Switzerland and Austria)

 Moldova (between Ukraine and Romania)

 Mongolia (between Russia and China)

  Nepal (between India and China)

 Swaziland (between South Africa and Mozambique)

To this group could be added two de facto states with no or limited international recognition:

 South Ossetia (between Russia and Georgia)

 Transnistria (between Ukraine and Moldova)

Doubly landlocked:

A country is "doubly landlocked" or "double-landlocked" when it is surrounded entirely by one or more landlocked countries (requiring the crossing of at least two national borders to reach a coastline).

Landlocked Countries in Asia

There are currently only two such countries:

 Liechtenstein in Central Europe, surrounded by Switzerland and Austria.

 Uzbekistan in Central Asia, surrounded by Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

There were no doubly landlocked countries in recent times from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the end of World War I. Liechtenstein bordered the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had an Adriatic coastline, and Uzbekistan was then part of the Russian Empire, which had both ocean and sea access.

With the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918 and creation of an independent, landlocked Austria, Liechtenstein became the sole doubly landlocked country until 1938. In the Nazi Anschluss that year Austria was absorbed into the Third Reich, which possessed a border on the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. After World War II, Austria regained its independence and Liechtenstein once again became doubly landlocked.

Uzbekistan, which had been absorbed by the new Soviet Union upon the toppling of the Russian throne in 1917, gained its independence with the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 and became the second doubly landlocked country.

However, Uzbekistan's doubly landlocked status depends on the Caspian Sea's status dispute: some countries, especially Iran and Turkmenistan, claim that the Caspian Sea should be considered as a real sea (mainly because this way they would have larger oil and gas fields), which would make Uzbekistan only a simple landlocked country because its neighbours Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have access to the Caspian Sea.

List of landlocked countries:                            

Serial #	Country	Area (km2)	Population	Cluster
1	Afghanistan	652,230	33,369,945	Central Asia
2	Andorra	468	84,082	Western Europe
3	Armenia	29,743	3,254,300	Caucasia
4	Austria	83,871	8,572,895	Central Europe
5	Azerbaijan	86,600	8,997,401	Caucasia
6	Belarus	207,600	9,484,300	Commonwealth of Independent States
7	Bhutan	38,394	691,141	South Asia
8	Bolivia	1,098,581	10,907,778	South America
9	Botswana	582,000	1,990,876	Southern Africa
10	Burkina Faso	274,222	15,746,232	Central Africa
11	Burundi	27,834	8,988,091	Central Africa
12	Central African Republic	622,984	4,422,000	Central Africa
13	Chad	1,284,000	10,329,208	Central Africa
14	Czech Republic	78,867	10,674,947	Central Europe
15	Ethiopia	1,104,300	101,853,268	Central Africa
16	Hungary	93,028	10,005,000	Central Europe
17	Kosovo	10,908	1,804,838	Central Europe
18	Kyrgyzstan	199,951	5,482,000	Central Asia
19	Laos	236,800	6,320,000	East Asia
20	Lesotho	30,355	2,067,000	Southern Africa
21	Liechtenstein	160	35,789	Central Europe
22	Luxembourg	2,586	502,202	Central Europe
23	Macedonia	25,713	2,114,550	Central Europe
24	Malawi	118,484	15,028,757	Southern Africa
25	Mali	1,240,192	14,517,176	Central Africa
26	Moldova	33,846	3,559,500	(Eastern Europe)
27	Mongolia	1,566,500	2,892,876	Asia
28	Nagorno-Karabakh	11,458	146,600	Caucasia
29	Nepal	147,181	26,494,504	South Asia
30	Niger	1,267,000	15,306,252	Central Africa
31	Paraguay	406,752	6,349,000	South America
32	Rwanda	26,338	10,746,311	Central Africa
33	San Marino	61	31,716	Europe
34	Serbia	88,361	7,306,677	Central Europe
35	Slovakia	49,035	5,429,763	Central Europe
36	South Ossetia	3,900	72,000	Caucasia
37	South Sudan	619,745	8,260,490	Central Africa
38	Swaziland	17,364	1,185,000	Southern Africa
39	Switzerland	41,284	7,785,600	Central Europe
40	Tajikistan	143,100	7,349,145	Central Asia
41	Transnistria	4,163	505,153	(Eastern Europe)
42	Turkmenistan	488,100	5,110,000	Central Asia
43	Uganda	241,038	40,322,768	Central Africa
44	Uzbekistan	449,100	32,606,007	Central Asia
45	Vatican City	0.44	826	Europe
46	Zambia	752,612	12,935,000	Southern Africa
47	Zimbabwe	390,757	12,521,000	Southern Africa
	Total	14,776,228	475,818,737

The total world landlocked countries by Percentage of the total world population are 11.4%.

Economic Challenges facing world Landlocked countries

Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria as a coast on the saltwater Caspian Sea.

Some  has a coast on the saltwater Aral Sea.

South Ossetia and Transnistria are disputed region with limited international recognition.

Lesotho, Andorra, San Marino and Vatican City are landlocked by just one country.

They can be grouped in contiguous groups as follows:

Central Asian cluster: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Central European cluster: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo (partially recognized), Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia and Switzerland

Central and East African cluster: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda

South African cluster: Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Caucasian cluster: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh (unrecognized)

South American cluster: Bolivia, Paraguay.

Landlocked Countries in Europe

Moldova and Transnistria form their own cluster in the Eastern Europe.

If it were not for the 40 km of coastline at Muanda, DR Congo would join the two African clusters into one, making them the biggest contiguous group in the world. Also, the Central Asian and Caucasian clusters can be considered contiguous, joined by the landlocked Caspian Sea. Mongolia is almost part of this cluster too, being separated from Kazakhstan by only 30 km, across Russian or Chinese territory.

There are the following "single" landlocked countries (each of them borders no other landlocked country):

Africa (2): Lesotho, Swaziland

Asia (4): Bhutan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal

Europe (6): Andorra, Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova (if Transnistria is excluded), San Marino, and the State of the Vatican City

Caucasus (1): South Ossetia (partially recognized)

If the Caucasian countries and Kazakhstan are counted as part of Europe, then Europe has the most landlocked countries, at 20. If these transcontinental countries are included in Asia, then Africa has the most, at 16. Depending on the status of the three transcontinental countries, Asia has between 9 and 14, while South America has only 2. North America and Australia are the only continents with no landlocked countries (not including Antarctica, which has no countries).

World Landlocked Countries

The Convention Treaty on Transit Trade of Land-locked 8 July 1965

The Convention on Transit Trade of Land-locked States is a multilateral treaty that addresses international rules allowing for land-locked countries to transport goods to and from seaports. The convention imposes obligations on both land-locked states and on coastal states that ratify the treaty.

The convention was concluded at the United Nations Conference on Transit Trade of Land-locked Countries, which had been established by the United Nations General Assembly. It was concluded and signed on 8 July 1965. The treaty came into force on 9 June 1967.

Coastal states that ratify the convention (known as "transit states") agree to make arrangements with land-locked states that are party to the treaty that wish to transit goods across the territory of the transit state to or from a coastal port in the transit state. The transit states agree that they will not discriminate based on place of origin or destination of the goods being transported. The land-locked states agree to be responsible for any expenses that the transit states incur in supervising or protecting the transit of the land-locked state's goods.

The convention has been noted as the first international agreement to recognize the special disadvantaged position of land-locked states. The motto of “World Landlocked Countries Association” is to find new ways to minimize or finish this special disadvantage position.

Landlocked Countries in Africa

As of June 2014, the treaty has been ratified by 43 states, made up of an approximately even split of land-locked and coastal states. The convention has essentially been superseded by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which contains similar provisions for transit arrangements to be made between coastal and land-locked states.

How Many Countries are Landlocked?

There are currently 48 countries (including four partially recognized states) that are completely surrounded by at least one other country.  With the exception of two countries in South America (Bolivia and Paraguay) the rest of these 46 countries are found in Africa, Europe, and Asia.

There are three countries that are completely landlocked (i.e. surrounded on all sides) by only country. Two of these countries are founded within the country of Italy.  These single-country landlocked countries are: Lesotho which is surrounded by South Africa, San Marino, a state surrounded by Italy, and Vatican City which is a city-state surrounded by Rome, the capitol city of Italy.

Double-Landlocked Countries:

Landlocked countries that are separated from the nearest ocean coastline but not one, but two countries, are known as double-landlocked or doubly-landlocked countries.  The first country that is double-landlocked is the microstate of Liechtenstein located in central Europe which is immediately surrounded by the landlocked countries of Austria and Switzerland.  The second country is located in central Asia, Uzbekistan which is surrounded by the landlocked countries of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

Largest and Smallest Landlocked Countries:

The largest landlocked country is Kazakhstan in Central Asia with a land area of over 2.7 million kilometers.  The smallest landlocked country is the city-state of Vatican City with an area of just 44 hectares (109 acres).

Landlocked countries of the world are those countries whose borders are completely surrounded by different countries. In other word these countries have no access to open seas. Some countries even having access to seas can be called as landlocked if the seas on their border are itself landlocked providing no access to open navigation.

10 Largest Landlocked Countries of World:

1. Kazakhstan

Largest Landlocked Countries of World.

Kazakhstan: Largest Landlocked Country.

Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 2,724,900 Sq Km. It is surrounded by 5 different neighboring countries. These are – China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

2. Mongolia

Mongolia is the second largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 1,566,500 Sq Km. It is surrounded by only two countries Russia and China.

3. Chad

Chad is the third largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 1,284,000 Sq Km. It is surrounded by Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger.

4. Niger

Niger is the fourth largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 1,267,000 Sq Km. It is surrounded by Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali and Nigeria.

5. Mali

Mali is the fifth largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 1,240,192 Sq Km. It is surrounded by Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cote d’ Ivoire, Guinea, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.

6. Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the sixth largest landlocked country of world. It has total area of 1,104,300 Sq Km. It is surrounded by Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan.

7. Bolivia

Bolivia has total area of 1,098,581 Sq Km. It is largest landlocked country outside Afro-asia group. It has 5 bordering countries totally surrounding it – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru.

8. Zambia

Zambia has total area of 752,612 Sq Km. It is surrounded by 8 African countries including – Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

9. Afghanistan

Afghanistan has total area of 652,230 Sq Km. It is surrounded by China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and India. The border with India is disputed and claimed officially by India but in reality it comes in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

10. Central African Republic

Central African Republic has total area of 622,984 Sq Km and it is 10th largest landlocked country of world. It is totally surrounded by 6 African countries – Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo.

List of Smallest Landlocked Countries:

The smallest landlocked country of world is Vatican City which has area of 0.44 Sq Km and it is totally bordered by Italy. The 5 smallest landlocked countries of world in increasing order are –

Vatican City (0.44 Sq Km area, surrounded by Italy)

San Marino (61 Sq Km, surrounded by Italy)

Liechtenstein (160 Sq Km, surrounded by Austria and Switzerland)

Andorra (468 Sq Km, surrounded by Spain and France)

Luxembourg (2586 Sq Km, surrounded by Belgium, France and Germany)

List of Landlocked Countries by Continents:

Landlocked Countries of Asia:

There are 13 different landlocked countries in Asia. These countries in decreasing order of area are – Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Laos, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Bhutan and Armenia.

Landlocked Countries of Europe:

The 12 landlocked countries of Europe in descending order of Area are – Belarus, Hungary, Serbia, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Moldova, Macedonia, Luxembourg, Andorra, Liechtenstein, San Marino and Vatican City.

Landlocked Countries of Africa:

The 17 landlocked countries of Africa in decreasing order of Area are – Chad, Niger, Mali, Ethiopia, Zambia, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Malawi, Lesotho, Burundi, Rwanda, Swaziland.

Landlocked Countries of South America:

There are only two landlocked countries. These in decreasing order of their area are Bolivia and Paraguay.

The “World Landlocked Countries Association” will bring all the landlocked countries states, governments, people, and societies together at one forum to cooperate with each other and share their experiences.

The issues, miseries and challenges facing the landlocked countries are generally the same in every part of the world. Simply every country states, people and governments have the same feelings on issues of landlocked geographical locations. These same feelings, miseries and challenges will bring all the member countries towards unity and a unified stand on policy issues regarding landlocked countries.

Connections of Universities of the landlocked countries:

The universities and other educational institutions of the landlocked countries have very large potential to come closer to each other and find ways and solutions to issues facing landlocked countries. They can make cultural, professional, educational and technical experiences exchanges and sharing with each other.

Contacts of Trade and Commerce Ministries of landlocked countries:

The trade and commerce ministries, departments of all the landlocked countries need to get together to share their experiences and make unified policy stand on all issues facing landlocked countries trade and commerce.

Contacts of Industrial ministries of landlocked countries with each other:

The contacts and mutual meetings of industrial development ministries of landlocked countries need to be established by their relevant governments and ministries. These meetings will help to share experiences, issues with each other.

Meetings of private traders, industry owners and technical experts with each other:

The regular meetings of the private traders, industry owners and technical experts will also help to minimize the economic issues facing landlocked countries.

Investment promotions between landlocked & coastal countries:

The ministries of investment promotions can have also larger potentials to meet with each other and find investment opportunities in the landlocked countries development projects. These professionals can also identify, initiate and establish new development projects which should be crucial to the country’s economy. The rail, road, oil & gas pipelines projects are the key for identification and promotion.

Construction experts and companies mutual meet up:

The mutual meet up of landlocked countries construction experts and companies will also pave way for a better identification of transport and communication projects for the economic development of landlocked countries.

Identifying the common Industrial zones between landlocked & coastal neighbor countries:

The identification of common industrial zones between landlocked & coastal neighbor countries is the most important work needed to establish. Such identification will bring an economic boom to both the landlocked & coastal neighbor country. Whenever both of these countries have common interests then the paths of possibilities come out at large.

Identification of Economic Corridors of Communication between landlocked & coastal neighbor countries:

The identification, planning and implementation of the Economic Corridors of communication between both landlocked & coastal neighbor countries are the most important visionary tasks of the “World Landlocked Countries Association”. The Economic Corridors of communication can include high-tech, well-engineered Highways, Motorways, Economic Zones, Industrial zones, Railways, Electricity transmissions, Oil & gas pipe linings etc. Such all facilities can transform both (landlocked & coastal) country economy into a hub of prosperity and sustainable development growth. Such a planning can complete the sustainable and millennium development goals of United Nations as well.

“World Landlocked Countries Association” believes on the economic partnership of world (landlocked & coastal) countries.

The main vision of the “World Landlocked Countries Association” is to work for the real based and truly friendly partnership of both (landlocked & coastal) countries into reality. The association believes that such a partnership can only be successful when both (landlocked & coastal) countries get together and forget all hostilities, imperial designs and no-confidence measures.

Building mutual understandings and confidence building measures between (landlocked & coastal) countries

The economic integration of both the (landlocked & coastal) countries lies in mutual understandings and confidence building measures. The association main task will be to bridge such understandings and confidence building measures between (landlocked & coastal) countries of the world.
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Economic issues and the landlocked countries:

A country without coastline has cost of International Cargo Transportation three times more than the country with coastline in Asia. Some landlocked developing countries average transit transport cost for exports and imports are more than 4.10% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). These are the very tough challenges facing the economies of these Asian landlocked countries. The cooperation of neighboring coastal countries has not fully cooperated attitude with the landlocked countries as needed for a peaceful and co-existent world. The miseries, sorrows, depravedness and economic frustration of the world major landlocked countries still exists with full strength in this world assumed as a global village. The world major landlocked countries have got no any full benefit from the globalization of the world in this new century. The landlocked countries are not half a dozen countries that their voice may not be heard in the world. The landlocked countries are at a quantity of 48 in all the four large continents of the world. These countries need to achieve a unified and informal stance on every issue they face. These all are the reasons on which the ““World Landlocked Countries Association” is proposed.

Facts about most landlocked countries of Central Asia:

This is the very worst situation happening in most of the landlocked developing countries. The economic growth for a country is very slow whose area is farther than 1000 kilometers from sea to a country with coastline. The central Asian region has the economic challenges which are a question mark to development of this remote region. The central Asian region is the vast resource of natural and economic potentials and its hope can be drawn better from establishment of “World Landlocked Countries Association”.

Kazakhstan's closest distance to sea, as the country with the longest distance with the coast line is as 3750 kilometers. Uzbekistan's has closest distance to sea, as the only doubly landlocked developing country in the world. Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world still has the greater economic potentials in form of natural resources and human development index. The central Asian landlocked states has the greater natural and human resources so this all region has the greatest potentials if these countries has given the full rights of economic cooperation with their coastal neighboring countries. Iran and Pakistan can become greater sources of trading development for central Asian states including the landlocked Afghanistan. The current China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a road and rail link from China to port city Gwadar of Pakistan can also become the good source of trade development through Pakistan and central Asia landlocked countries to outside world. The main requirement is to establish a unified forum for the voices of landlocked central Asia. The “World Landlocked Countries Association” can become the greater central voice for Central Asian economic miseries diminishing. China also has the full capacity and responsibility to ease the economic challenges of Central Asian landlocked region. It will be a win-win situation among the regional coastal countries as well as the landlocked Central Asian countries. The Economic Corridor from China to Iran port city of Chabhar through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan is also a major potential for the economic ease of central Asian landlocked countries but they have to achieve their full rights through a unified proposed forum of “World Landlocked Countries Association”.

There are more than 31 landlocked developing landlocked countries sharing common problems of geographical remoteness and dependence on trade on neighboring & coastal countries.

The advanced developed landlocked countries of Europe like Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Austria, Czech Republic and Belarus can play a role model for the least developed landlocked countries.

Historically, being land-locked was a disadvantage because it cuts the country off from sea resources such as fishing, beach tourism etc. But more importantly it cuts off access to seaborne trade which, even today, makes up a large percentage of international trade. Coastal regions tended to be wealthier and more heavily populated then inland ones.

It means that a country's trade has been lessened to the countries which surround it, instead of the ones overseas. This means the GNP of a country will be lower than that of an island country.

“World Landlocked Countries Association” as major source proposed for future of landlocked economies:

The landlocked countries of the world are located in all the four large continents of the world i.e. Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. These landlocked countries have memberships with various regional organizations like European Union, Organization of African Countries (OAC), Organization for American States (OAS), South Asian Countries Regional Cooperation (SARC), South East Asian Nations Cooperation (ASEAN), Shanghai Cooperation (SC), Common Wealth of Independent States (CIS) Turkic Council (TC) etc. The proposed “World Landlocked Countries Association” has the greater potentials to make their unified and well organized stand and policy on the Trading rights of the landlocked countries. “World Landlocked Countries Association” can also be the greater representative in world regional forums.

The “World Landlocked Countries Association” has the full capacity, resources, quantity and ability to work for their full rights of advanced trading, economic cooperation and partnerships. Every landlocked country across all the four continents of the world needs to stand for the rights of each and every landlocked country of the world. The major issues facing the landlocked countries are similar in nature regarding trading and economic development. Thus these issues similarities are their sources of strength, not weakness.

A

Sample

of

Agreement for proposal of

“World Landlocked Countries Association”

1. Desirous of promoting peace, stability, amity and progress in the region through strict adherence to the principles of the UNITED NATIONS CHARTER and NON-ALIGNMENT, particularly respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, national independence, non-use of force and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and peaceful settlement of all disputes;

2. Every landlocked country is vulnerable because of its isolated geographical position from coastal areas and seaports. The “World Landlocked Countries Association” will be the forum which will provide a source for every landlocked country to advocate and support issues and challenges facing any landlocked country.

3. The developed and advanced landlocked countries like Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Belarus, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein has to lead the association members regarding its secretariat and general management activities. These developed landlocked countries have much experience to share with the developing landlocked countries facing economic challenges.

4. It is a fact that the world landlocked countries consists of both economically advanced countries like Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Belarus, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein but also consists of economically poor countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nepal, Laos, Bhutan and Bolivia. All the economically advance landlocked countries have very much potentials to partner with the economically weak landlocked countries to gain benefits from this landlocked economical block association.

5. There is greater need of construction, developing and creating of large rail and motorways as a communication links from landlocked country to the coastal neighboring country.  The association objective should be to convince, prepare and inform the neighboring coastal country that the advanced technological communication links between landlocked country and coastal neighboring country is in the interests of both countries economic benefits.

6. The linking, construction, installation and operation of oil & gas pipelines between landlocked and neighboring coastal country should be the priority development projects of the association.

7. Conscious that in an increasingly interdependent world, the objectives of peace, freedom, social justice and economic prosperity are best achieved in the Landlocked countries of the world by fostering mutual understanding, good neighborly relations and meaningful cooperation among the Member States which are bound by ties of history and culture;

8. Aware of the common problems, interests and aspirations of the peoples of Landlocked countries of the world and the need for joint action and enhanced cooperation within their respective political and economic systems and cultural traditions;

9. Convinced that regional cooperation among the countries of Landlocked countries of the world is mutually beneficial, desirable and necessary for promoting the welfare and improving the quality of life of the peoples of the region;

10. Convinced further that economic, social and technical cooperation among the countries of Landlocked countries of the world would contribute significantly to national and collective self-reliance; Every landlocked country recognizes its disadvantaged position regarding trade development and that is the reason that there unity will be successful in the form of an association.

11. Recognizing that increased cooperation, contacts and exchanges among landlocked countries of the world will contribute to the promotion of friendship and understanding among their peoples;

12. Recalling the future declaration to be signed by their Foreign Ministers in any landlocked country of the world and noting the progress to be achieved in cooperation between all landlocked countries of the world;

13. Reaffirming their determination to promote such cooperation within an institutional framework; to establish national experts for the World landlocked countries committee of experts in different thematic sectors of development.

14. The “World Landlocked Countries Association” will have a very large economic, social, political and geo-strategic importance in the world because these countries vary 48 in quantity and have the economic engagements and dependence on similar or more quantity of states or countries. It means that this association will be associated with countries more than hundred in quantity.

Do hereby agree to establish an organization to be known as “World Landlocked Countries Association” hereinafter referred to as the Association, with the following objectives, principles, institutional and financial arrangements:

Landlocked developed and developing countries are states which are landlocked by surrounding countries.

They suffer substantially great economic disadvantage compared with coastal countries due to their lack of territorial access to the sea. There remoteness and isolation from world markets are their great economic misery. Most of the landlocked countries poor infrastructure and weak institutions are their additional problems. Major of the landlocked developing countries are with the lowest Human Development Index (HDI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Objectives:

The objectives of the Association shall be::

Article I

a) To promote the welfare of the peoples of Landlocked countries of the world and to improve their quality of life;

b) To accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realise their full potentials;

c) To promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the Landlocked countries of the world; d) to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems;

e) To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields;

f) To strengthen cooperation with the neighboring coastal countries on mutual equality and trust.

g) To strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interests; and

h) To cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.

Article II

Principals:

1.Cooperation within the framework of the Association shall be based on respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and mutual benefit.

2. Such cooperation shall not be a substitute for bilateral and multilateral cooperation but shall complement them.

3. Such cooperation shall not be inconsistent with bilateral and multilateral obligations.

Article III MEETINGS OF THE HEADS OF STATE OR GOVERNMENT

The Heads of State or Government shall meet once a year or more often as and when considered necessary by the Member States of Landlocked countries of the world.

Article III

Council of Ministers(CM):

1.A Council of Ministers consisting of the Foreign Ministers of the Member States shall be established with the following functions:

a) formulation of the policies of the Association; b) review of the progress of cooperation under the Association; c) decision on new areas of cooperation; d) establishment of additional mechanism under the Association as deemed necessary; e) decision on other matters of general interest to the Association.

2. The Council of Ministers shall meet twice a year. Extraordinary session of the Council may be held by agreement among the Member States of Landlocked countries of the world.

Article IV

Standing Committee

1.The Standing Committee comprising the Foreign Secretaries shall have the following functions:

a)overall monitoring and coordination of programme of cooperation; b) approval of projects and programmes, and the modalities of their financing; c) determination of inter-sectoral priorities; d) mobilisation of regional and external resources; e) identification of new areas of cooperation based on appropriate studies.

2. The Standing Committee shall meet as often as deemed necessary.

3. The Standing Committee shall submit periodic reports to the Council of Ministers and make reference to it as and when necessary for decisions on policy matters.

Article V

Technical Committees:

1.Technical Committees comprising representatives of Member States shall be responsible for the implementation, coordination and monitoring of the programmes in their respective areas of cooperation.

2. They shall have the following terms of reference:

a) Determination of the potential and the scope of regional cooperation in agreed areas; b) formulation of programmes and preparation of projects; c) determination of financial implications of sectoral programmes; d) formulation of recommendations regarding apportionment of costs;

e) Implementation and coordination of sectoral programmes; f) monitoring of progress in implementation.

3. The Technical Committees shall submit periodic reports to the Standing Committee.

4. The Chairmanship of the Technical Committees shall normally rotate among Member States of Landlocked countries of the world in alphabetical order every two years.

5. The Technical Committees may, inter-alia, use the following mechanisms and modalities, if and when considered necessary:

a) meetings of heads of national technical agencies; b) meetings of experts in specific fields; c) contact amongst recognised centres of excellence in the continental landlocked countries as well as at global level.

Article VI

Action Committees:

The Standing Committee may set up Action Committees comprising Member States of Landlocked countries of the world concerned with implementation of projects involving more than two but not all Member States.

Article VII

Secretariat:

There shall be a Secretariat of the “World Landlocked Countries Association”.

Article IIX

Financial Arrangements:

1.The contribution of each Member State towards financing of the activities of the Association shall be voluntary. 2. Each Technical Committee shall make recommendations for the apportionment of costs of implementing the programmes proposed by it. 3. In case sufficient financial resources cannot be mobilised within the region for funding activities of the Association, external financing from appropriate sources may be mobilised with the approval of or by the Standing Committee.

Article IX

General Provisions:

1.Decisions at all levels shall be taken on the basis of unanimity.

2. Bilateral and contentious issues shall be excluded from the deliberations.

Agreement on Landlocked countries of the world free trade with neighboring coastal countries:

 The Governments of the “World Landlocked Countries Association” Member States comprising all the landlocked countries of the world.

Motivated by the commitment to strengthen intra-“World Landlocked Countries Association” and neighboring coastal countries economic cooperation to maximize the realization of the region's potential for trade and development for the benefit of their people, in a spirit of mutual accommodation, with full respect for the principles of sovereign equality, independence and territorial integrity of all States;

Noting that the Agreement on “World Landlocked Countries Association” and coastal neighbors Preferential Trading Arrangement shall be signed in provides for the adoption of various instruments of trade liberalization on a preferential basis;

Convinced that preferential trading arrangements among “World Landlocked Countries Association” Member States and its coastal neighbors will act as a stimulus to the strengthening of national and “World Landlocked Countries Association” economic resilience, and the development of the national economies of the Contracting States by expanding investment and production opportunities, trade, and foreign exchange earnings as well as the development of economic and technological cooperation;

Aware that a number of regions are entering into such arrangements to enhance trade through the free movement of goods; Recognizing that Least Developed Countries in the region need to be accorded special and differential treatment commensurate with their development needs; and Recognizing that it is necessary to progress beyond a Preferential Trading Arrangement to move towards higher levels of trade and economic cooperation in the region by removing barriers to cross-border flow of goods;

Have agreed as follows:

Article - XI

Definitions:

For the purposes of this Agreement:

1. Concessions mean tariff, para-tariff and non-tariff concessions agreed under the Trade Liberalisation Programme;

2. Direct Trade Measures mean measures conducive to promoting mutual trade of Contracting States such as long and medium -term contracts containing import and supply commitments in respect of specific products, buy-back arrangements, state trading operations, and government and public procurement;

3. Least Developed Contracting State refers to a Contracting State which is designated as a "Least Developed Country" by the United Nations;

4. Margin of Preference means percentage of tariff by which tariffs are reduced on products imported from one Contracting State to another as a result of preferential treatment.

5. Non-Tariff Measures include any measure, regulation, or practice, other than "tariffs" and "Para-tariffs".

6. Para-Tariffs mean border charges and fees, other than "tariffs", on foreign trade transactions of a tariff-like effect which are levied solely on imports, but not those indirect taxes and charges, which are levied in the same manner on like domestic products. Import charges corresponding to  Article – 2.

Establishment:

Article XII

Objectives and Principles specific services rendered are not considered as para-tariff measures;

7. Products mean all products including manufactures and commodities in their raw, semi processed and processed forms;

8. Serious injury means a significant impairment of the domestic industry of like or directly competitive products due to a surge in preferential imports causing substantial losses in terms of earnings, production or employment unsustainable in the short term;

9. Tariffs mean customs duties included in the national tariff schedules of the Contracting States;

10. Threat of serious injury means a situation in which a substantial increase of preferential imports is of a nature to cause "serious injury" to domestic producers, and that such injury, although not yet existing, is clearly imminent. A determination of threat of serious injury shall be based on facts and not on mere allegation, conjecture, or remote or hypothetical possibility.

The Contracting States hereby establish the free trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors to promote and enhance mutual trade and economic cooperation among the Contracting States, through exchanging concessions in accordance with this Agreement.

1. The Objectives of this Agreement are to promote and enhance mutual trade and economic cooperation among Contracting States by, inter-alia:

a) Eliminating barriers to trade in, and facilitating the cross-border movement of goods between the territories of the Contracting States;

b) Promoting conditions of fair competition in the free trade area, and ensuring equitable benefits to all Contracting States, taking into account their respective levels and pattern of economic development;

c) Creating effective mechanism for the implementation and application of this Agreement, for its joint administration and for the resolution of disputes between landlocked country and its respective neighbor; and

d) Establishing a framework for further global cooperation between landlocked and its coastal neighbors to expand and enhance the mutual benefits of this Agreement.

2. Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors shall be governed in accordance with the following principles:

a) Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors will be governed by the provisions of this Agreement and also by the rules, regulations, decisions, understandings and protocols to be agreed upon within its framework by the Contracting States;

b) The Contracting States affirm their existing rights and obligations with respect to each other under Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and other Treaties/Agreements to which such Contracting States are signatories;

c) Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors shall be based and applied on the principles of overall reciprocity and mutuality of advantages in such a way as to benefit equitably all Contracting States, taking into account their respective levels of economic and industrial development, the pattern of Article – 4 Instruments Article – 5 National Treatment Article – 6 Components Article – 7 their external trade and tariff policies and systems;

d) Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors shall involve the free movement of goods, between countries through, inter alia, the elimination of tariffs, para tariffs and non-tariff restrictions on the movement of goods, and any other equivalent measures;

e) Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors shall entail adoption of trade facilitation and other measures, and the progressive harmonization of legislations by the Contracting States in the relevant areas; and

f) The special needs of the Least Developed Contracting States shall be clearly recognized by adopting concrete preferential measures in their favour on a non-reciprocal basis.

The Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors Agreement will be implemented through the following instruments:-

1. Trade Liberalisation Programme

2. Rules of Origin

3. Institutional Arrangements

4. Consultations and Dispute Settlement Procedures

5. Safeguard Measures

6. Any other instrument that may be agreed upon.

Each Contracting State shall accord national treatment to the products of other Contracting States in accordance with the provisions of rules to be decided.

Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors may, inter-alia, consist of arrangements relating to:

a) Tariffs;

b) Para-tariffs;

c) Non-tariff measures;

d) Direct trade measures.

Trade Liberalisation Programme:

Article - XIII

Additional Measures

1. Contracting States agree to the following schedule of tariff reductions:

a) The tariff reduction by the Non-Least Developed Contracting States from existing tariff rates to 20% shall be done within a time frame of 2 years, from the date of coming into force of the Agreement. Contracting States are encouraged to adopt reductions in equal annual installments. If actual tariff rates after the coming into force of the Agreement are below 20%, there shall be an annual reduction on a Margin of Preference basis of 10% on actual tariff rates for each of the two years.

b) The tariff reduction by the Least Developed Contracting States from existing tariff rates will be to 30% within the time frame of 2 years from the date of coming into force of the Agreement. If actual tariff rates on the date of coming into force of the Agreement are below 30%, there will be an annual reduction on a Margin of Preference basis of 5 % on actual tariff rates for each of the two years.

c) The subsequent tariff reduction by Non-Least Developed Contracting States from 20% or below to 0-5% shall be done within a second time frame of 5 years, beginning from the third year from the date of coming into force of the Agreement.

d) The subsequent tariff reduction by the Least Developed Contracting States from 30% or below to 0-5% shall be done within a second time frame of 8 years beginning from the third year from the date of coming into force of the Agreement. The Least Developed Contracting States are encouraged to adopt reductions in equal annual installments, not less than 10% annually.

2. The above schedules of tariff reductions will not prevent Contracting States from immediately reducing their tariffs to 0-5% or from following an accelerated schedule of tariff reduction.

3. a) Contracting States may not apply the Trade Liberalisation Programme as in paragraph 1 above, to the tariff lines included in the Sensitive Lists which shall be negotiated by the Contracting States (for LDCs and Non -LDCs) and incorporated in this Agreement as an integral part. The number of products in the Sensitive Lists shall be subject to maximum ceiling to be mutually agreed among the Contracting States with flexibility to Least Developed Contracting States to seek derogation in respect of the products of their export interest; and

b) The Sensitive List shall be reviewed after every four years or earlier as may be decided by Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors Ministerial Council (MC), established under Article 10, with a view to reducing the number of items in the Sensitive List.

4. The Contracting States shall notify the “World Landlocked Countries Association” Secretariat all non-tariff and para-tariff measures to their trade on an annual basis. The notified measures shall be reviewed by the Committee of Experts, established under Article 10, in its regular meetings to examine their compatibility with relevant WTO provisions. The Committee of Experts shall recommend the elimination or implementation of the measure in the least trade restrictive manner in order to facilitate

Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors

5. Contracting Parties shall eliminate all quantitative restrictions, except otherwise permitted under rules, in respect of products included in the Trade Liberalisation Programme.

6. Notwithstanding the provisions contained in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Non-Least Developed

Contracting States shall reduce their tariff to 0-5% for the products of Least Developed Contracting States within a timeframe of three years beginning from the date of coming into force of the Agreement.

Extension of Negotiated Concessions

Article - XIV

Institutional Arrangements:

Contracting States agree to consider, in addition to the measures set out in Article 7, the adoption of trade facilitation and other measures to support and complement Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors for mutual benefit.

These may include, among others: -

a) Harmonization of standards, reciprocal recognition of tests and accreditation of testing laboratories of Contracting States and certification of products;

b) Simplification and harmonization of customs clearance procedure;

c) Harmonization of national customs classification based on HS coding system;

d) Customs cooperation to resolve dispute at customs entry points;

e) Simplification and harmonization of import licensing and registration procedures;

f) Simplification of banking procedures for import financing;

g) Transit facilities for efficient intra- Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors trade, especially for the land-locked Contracting States;

h) Removal of barriers to intra- Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors investments;

i) Macroeconomic consultations;

j) Rules for fair competition and the promotion of venture capital;

k) Development of communication systems and transport infrastructure;

l) Making exceptions to their foreign exchange restrictions, if any, relating to payments for

products under the Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors scheme, as well as repatriation of such payments without prejudice to their rights under Article XVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the relevant provisions of Articles of Treaty of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and

m) Simplification of procedures for business visas. Concessions agreed to, other than those made exclusively to the Least Developed Contracting States, shall be extended unconditionally to all Contracting States.

1. The Contracting States hereby establish the Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors Ministerial Council (hereinafter referred to as (MC).

2. The MC shall be the highest decision -making body of Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors and shall be responsible for the administration and implementation of this Agreement and all decisions and arrangements made within its legal framework.

3. The MC shall consist of the Ministers of Commerce/Trade of the Contracting States.

4. The MC shall meet at least once every year or more often as and when considered necessary by the Contracting States. Each Contracting State shall chair the SMC for a period of one year on rotational basis in alphabetical order.

5. The MC shall be supported by a Committee of Experts (hereinafter referred to as COE), with one nominee from each Contracting State at the level of a Senior Economic Official, with expertise in trade matters.

6. The COE shall monitor, review and facilitate implementation of the provisions of this Agreement and undertake any task assigned to it by the SMC. The COE shall submit its report to MC every six months.

7. The COE will also act as Dispute Settlement Body under this Agreement.

8. The COE shall meet at least once every six months or more often as and when considered necessary by the Contracting States. Each Contracting State shall chair the COE for a period of  Article - 11

Special and Differential Treatment for the Least Developed Contracting States

9. The “World Landlocked Countries Association” Secretariat shall provide secretarial support to the MC and COE in the discharge of their functions.

10. The MC and COE will adopt their own rules of procedure.

In addition to other provisions of this Agreement, all Contracting States shall provide special and more favorable treatment exclusively to the Least Developed Contracting States as set out in the following sub-paragraphs:

a) The Contracting States shall give special regard to the situation of the Least Developed Contracting States when considering the application of anti-dumping and/or countervailing measures. In this regard, the Contracting States shall provide an opportunity to Least Developed Contracting States for consultations. The Contracting States shall, to the extent practical, favourably consider accepting price undertakings offered by exporters from Least Developed Contracting States. These constructive remedies shall be available until the trade liberalisation programme has been completed by all Contracting States.

b) Greater flexibility in continuation of quantitative or other restrictions provisionally and without discrimination in critical circumstances by the Least Developed Contracting States on imports from other Contracting States.

c) Contracting States shall also consider, where practical, taking direct trade measures with a view to enhancing sustainable exports from Least Developed Contracting States, such as long and medium-term contracts containing import and supply commitments in respect of specific products, buy-back arrangements, state trading operations, and government and public procurement.

d) Special consideration shall be given by Contracting States to requests from Least Developed Contracting States for technical assistance and cooperation arrangements designed to assist them in expanding their trade with other Contracting States and in taking advantage of the potential benefits of Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors. A list of possible areas for such technical assistance shall be negotiated by the Contracting States and incorporated in this Agreement as an integral part.

e) The Contracting States recognize that the Least Developed Contracting States may face loss of customs revenue due to the implementation of the Trade Liberalisation Programme under this Agreement. Until alternative domestic arrangements are formulated to address this situation, the Contracting States agree to establish an appropriate mechanism to compensate the Least Developed Contracting States for their loss of customs revenue.

This mechanism and its rules and regulations shall be established prior to the commencement of the Trade Liberalisation Programme (TLP).

General Exceptions

Article - XV

Balance of Payments Measures:

Notwithstanding the measures as set out in this Agreement its provisions shall not apply in relation to preferences already granted or to be granted by any Contracting State to other Contracting States outside the framework of this Agreement, and to third countries through bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral trade agreements and similar arrangements.

a) Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent any Contracting State from taking action and adopting measures which it considers necessary for the protection of its national security.

b) Subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries where the similar conditions prevail, or a disguised restriction on intra-regional trade, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent any Contracting State from taking action and adopting measures which it considers necessary for the protection of :

(i) public morals;

(ii) human, animal or plant life and health; and

(iii) articles of artistic, historic and archaeological value.

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Agreement, any Contracting State facing serious balance of payments difficulties may suspend provisionally the concessions extended under this Agreement.

2. Any such measure taken pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article shall be immediately notified to the Committee of Experts.

3. The Committee of Experts shall periodically review the measures taken pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article.

4. Any Contracting State which takes action pursuant to paragraph I of this Article shall afford, upon request from any other Contracting State, adequate opportunities for consultations with a view to preserving the stability of concessions under Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors.

5. If no satisfactory adjustment is effected between the Contracting States concerned within 30 days of the beginning of such consultations, to be extended by another 30 days through mutual consent, the matter may be referred to the Committee of Experts.

6. Any such measures taken pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article shall be phased out soon after the Committee of Experts comes to the conclusion that the balance of payments situation of the Contracting State concerned has improved.

Safeguard Measures

Article - XVI

Maintenance of the Value of Concessions:

Rules of Origin:

1. If any product, which is the subject of a concession under this Agreement, is imported into the territory of a Contracting State in such a manner or in such quantities as to cause, or threaten to cause, serious injury to producers of like or directly competitive products in the importing Contracting State, the importing Contracting State may, pursuant to an investigation by the competent authorities of that Contracting State conducted in accordance with the provisions set out in this Article, suspend temporarily the concessions granted under the provisions of this Agreement. The examination of the impact on the domestic industry concerned shall include an evaluation of all other relevant economic factors and indices having a bearing on the state of the domestic industry of the product and a causal relationship must be clearly established between "serious injury" and imports from within the Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors region, to the exclusion of all such other factors.

2. Such suspension shall only be for such time and to the extent as may be necessary to prevent or remedy such injury and in no case, will such suspension be for duration of more than 3 years.

3. No safeguard measure shall be applied again by a Contracting State to the import of a product which has been subject to such a measure during the period of implementation of Trade Liberalization Programme by the Contracting States, for a period of time equal to that during which such measure had been previously applied, provided that the period of non-application is at least two years.

4. Safeguard action under this Article shall be non-discriminatory and applicable to the productimported from all other Contracting States subject to the provisions of paragraph 8 of this Article.

5. When safeguard provisions are used in accordance with this Article, the Contracting State invoking such measures shall immediately notify the exporting Contracting State(s) and the Committee of Experts.

6. In critical circumstances where delay would cause damage which it would be difficult to repair, a Contracting State may take a provisional safeguard measure pursuant to a preliminary determination that there is clear evidence that increased imports have caused or are threatening to cause serious injury. The duration of the provisional measure shall not exceed 200 days, during this period the pertinent requirements of this Article shall be met.

7. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Article, safeguard measures under this article shall not be applied against a product originating in a Least Developed Contracting State as long as its share of imports of the product concerned in the importing Contracting State does not exceed 5 per cent, provided Least Developed Contracting States with less than 5% import share collectively account for not more than 15% of total imports of the product concerned.

Any of the concessions agreed upon under this Agreement shall not be diminished or nullified, by the application of any measures restricting trade by the Contracting States, except under the provisions of other articles of this Agreement.

Consultations:

Article - XVII

Dispute Settlement Mechanism:

Rules of Origin shall be negotiated by the Contracting States and incorporated in this Agreement as an integral part.

1. Each Contracting State shall accord sympathetic consideration to and will afford adequate opportunity for consultations regarding representations made by another Contracting State with respect to any matter affecting the operation of this Agreement.

2. The Committee of Experts may, at the request of a Contracting State, consult with any Contracting State in respect of any matter for which it has not been possible to find a satisfactory solution through consultations under paragraph 1.

1. Any dispute that may arise among the Contracting States regarding the interpretation and application of the provisions of this Agreement or any instrument adopted within its framework concerning the rights and obligations of the Contracting States will be amicably settled among the parties concerned through a process initiated by a request for bilateral consultations.

2. Any Contracting State may request consultations in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article with other Contracting State in writing stating the reasons for the request including identification of the measures at issue. All such requests should be notified to the Committee of Experts, through the “World Landlocked Countries Association” Secretariat with an indication of the legal basis for the complaint.

3. If a request for consultations is made pursuant to this Article, the Contracting State to which the request is made shall, unless otherwise mutually agreed, reply to the request within 15 days after the date of its receipt and shall enter into consultations in good faith within a period of no more than 30 days after the date of receipt of the request, with a view to reaching a mutually satisfactory solution.

4. If the Contracting State does not respond within 15 days after the date of receipt of the request, or does not enter into consultations within a period of no more than 30 days, or a period otherwise mutually agreed, after the date of receipt of the request, then the Contracting State that requested the holding of consultations may proceed to request the Committee of Experts to settle the dispute in accordance with working procedures to be drawn up by the Committee.

5. Consultations shall be confidential, and without prejudice to the rights of any Contracting State in any further proceedings.

6. If the consultations fail to settle a dispute within 30 days after the date of receipt of the request for consultations, to be extended by a further period of 30 days through mutual consent, the complaining Contracting State may request the Committee of Experts to settle the dispute. The complaining Contracting State may request the Committee of Experts to settle the dispute during the 60-day period if the consulting Contracting States jointly consider that consultations have failed to settle the dispute.

7. The Committee of Experts shall promptly investigate the matter referred to it and make recommendations on the matter within a period of 60 days from the date of referral.

8. The Committee of Experts may request a specialist from a Contracting State not party to the dispute selected from a panel of specialists to be established by the Committee within one year from the date of entry into force of the Agreement for peer review of the matter referred to it.

Such review shall be submitted to the Committee within a period of 30 days from the date of referral of the matter to the specialist.

Withdrawal:

Article - XVIII

Entry into Force:

Article - 23

Reservations:

9. Any Contracting State, which is a party to the dispute, may appeal the recommendations of the Committee of Experts to the MC. The MC shall review the matter within the period of 60 days from date of submission of request for appeal. The MC may uphold, modify or reverse the recommendations of the Committee of Experts.

10. Where the Committee of Experts or SMC concludes that the measure subject to dispute is inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Agreement, it shall recommend that the Contracting State concerned bring the measure into conformity with this Agreement. In addition to its recommendations, the Committee of Experts or MC may suggest ways in which the Contracting State concerned could implement the recommendations.

11. The Contracting State to which the Committee's or MC's recommendations are addressed shall within 30 days from the date of adoption of the recommendations by the Committee or MC, inform the Committee of Experts of its intentions regarding implementation of the recommendations. Should the said Contracting State fail to implement the recommendations within 90 days from the date of adoption of the recommendations by the Committee, the Committee of Experts may authorize other interested Contracting States to withdraw concessions having trade effects equivalent to those of the measure in dispute.

1. Any Contracting State may withdraw from this Agreement at any time after its entry into force. Such withdrawal shall be effective on expiry of six months from the date on which a written notice thereof is received by the Secretary-General of “World Landlocked Countries Association”, the depositary of this Agreement. That Contracting State shall simultaneously inform the Committee of Experts of the action it has taken.

2. The rights and obligations of a Contracting State which has withdrawn from this Agreement shall cease to apply as of that effective date.

3. Following the withdrawal by any Contracting State, the Committee shall meet within 30 days to consider action subsequent to withdrawal.

1. This Agreement shall enter into force on establishment of WLCA upon completion of formalities, including ratification by all Contracting States and issuance of a notification thereof by the WLCA Secretariat. This Agreement shall supercede the Agreement on WLCA Preferential Trading Arrangement between Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors.

2. Notwithstanding the supersession of Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors by this Agreement, the concessions granted under the Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors Framework shall remain available to the Contracting States until the completion of the Trade Liberalization Programme.

This Agreement shall not be signed with reservations, nor will reservations be admitted at the time of notification to the WLCA Secretariat of the completion of formalities.

Article - XIX

Amendments:

This Agreement may be amended by consensus in the Trade between landlocked and coastal neighbors Ministerial Council. Any such amendment will become effective upon the deposit of instruments of acceptance with the Secretary General of WLCA by all Contracting States.

Article - XX

Depository:

This Agreement will be deposited with the Secretary General of WLCA, who will promptly furnish a certified copy thereof to each Contracting State. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments have signed this Agreement.

This proposal is made by Muslim Ullah Khan, Chief Executive of “Reach Vulnerable”. This proposal is the copyright of the idea creator and any editing can be done with a proper permition from the founding person.

He can be reached at:

reply.rights@gmail.com