Morocco, represented by its Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, was elected on Tuesday as Vice-President of the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), held in Awaza, Turkmenistan.
The announcement was made during a plenary session of participating delegations at the conference (August 5–8), where Morocco is among the countries representing the African continent.
“Morocco’s role was highlighted through my election to the vice-presidency of the conference, which will allow us to be more active in debates and parallel meetings,” Omar Hilale stated in a declaration to MAP.
He emphasized the timeliness of the event, which had been postponed twice, recalling that landlocked developing countries represent 9% of the world’s population and one-sixth of UN member states, underlining their significance.
The Moroccan diplomat stressed the importance of this conference, which sheds light on the difficulties and challenges faced by these states while offering the international community an opportunity to discuss ways of providing support.
The conference is expected to conclude with a political declaration of solidarity with LLDCs, granting them greater attention and committing to strengthening international support. This will be achieved through an action plan focused on resilience, capacity-building, trade promotion, facilitation of commercial exchanges, investment attraction, and improved access—essential levers to break their isolation.
Hilale also highlighted the vision of HM King Mohammed VI in supporting and cooperating with landlocked developing states, citing two major initiatives:
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The Atlantic Initiative, which seeks to guarantee Sahel countries free access to the Atlantic Ocean.
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The Sahel Connectivity Initiative, a vital and strategic South-South solidarity effort to help landlocked states overcome isolation.
Morocco will take part in three parallel sessions of the conference to present the Kingdom’s royal strategy of support, its policies within the broader 2030 Agenda framework, and its solidarity-driven actions, particularly in Africa.
The diplomat concluded by noting that the conference aims to help LLDCs tackle two major challenges: underdevelopment, as most of these countries fall into that category, and lack of access to connectivity, transport, and trade networks, which raises import/export costs and hinders growth.
(With MAP)
