{"id":60438,"date":"2025-08-15T17:27:41","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T17:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity"},"modified":"2025-08-15T18:03:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T18:03:04","slug":"africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity","title":{"rendered":"Africa’s Land-Linked Economies Driving Prosperity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>\u201cWe stand at a pivotal moment, one that marks a profound shift from viewing these nations as isolated and constrained by geography to recognizing them as dynamic land-linked economies at the heart of Africa\u2019s socio-economic resurgence,\u201d said Samuel Doe, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

A new UNDP position paper \u2013 Africa\u2019s Land-Linked Economies: Pathways to Prosperity and Development \u2013 explores the new narrative for African LLDCs, \u201crewriting the story from one of geographic limitation to strategic advantage\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr. Doe, speaking on behalf of UNDP in Africa, presented the paper at a news conference on the margins of the Third UN Conference on LLDCs (LLDC3), which has been under way \u201cFor decades, Africa\u2019s LLDCs have been defined by their lack of direct access to the sea, often perceived as a disadvantage that limits trade, growth and development,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, Africa\u2019s LLDCs are leveraging their strategic centrality and regional connectivity to become vital hubs of economic activity, trade and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He cited, among others, Rwanda\u2019s 130,000-hectare Kigali Logistics Platform \u2013 a bustling regional hub, connecting Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi with the coastal economies of Kenya and Tanzania.<\/p>\n

In addition, Ethiopia facilitates crucial trade routes from South Sudan to Djibouti \u2013 including shortening freight transit by rail from 72 hours to 12 hours \u2013 and leverages its national airline, emerging as a vital global air transport connector that bridges Africa with international markets.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe anchor the pivotal North-South corridor, linking southern Africa to broader continental markets.<\/p>\n

Globally, LLDCs account for seven per cent of the world\u2019s population but contribute to only about 1.1 per cent of world trade.<\/p>\n

UNDP notes that although African LLDCs\u2019 contribution to global trade may be minimal, they supply regional and continental markets with strategic goods and services, including diamonds, copper, gold, coffee, sugar, as well as textiles and apparel.<\/p>\n

\u2018Land-linked shifts the narrative\u2019<\/p>\n

A critical element of the shift taking place on the continent is the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into effect in January 2021 and represents the world\u2019s largest free-trade area with a market of 1.2 billion people.<\/p>\n

Most African LLDCs are members of the AfCFTA, which is already reducing trade barriers, unlocking vast opportunities for LLDCs to actively participate in and benefit from intra-African and global trade, according to UNDP.<\/p>\n

\u201cLand-linked flips the narrative: inland countries become bridges, not barriers. With AfCFTA, LLDCs can turn geography into a competitive edge \u2013 moving goods, services, and data faster and more affordably across Africa and beyond,\u201d said Mr. Doe.<\/p>\n

The shift also requires coordinated policy reforms, as well as leveraging innovation, inclusive governance, resilience and financing to drive sustainable and inclusive growth.<\/p>\n

The paper also cites digital connectivity as a \u201ctransformative pathway\u201d for African LLDCs to transcend geographic constraints and establish direct linkages with regional and global markets.<\/p>\n

According to the 2024 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Facts and Figures, 39 per cent of the population in LLDCs is online, with internet access in African LLDCs reaching up to 20 per cent.<\/p>\n

The current digital landscape, though challenging, demonstrates that African LLDCs are positioned to leverage innovative connectivity solutions that bypass traditional dependencies on coastal neighbouring countries, according to the UNDP paper. These notwithstanding, LLDCs continue to rely on neighbouring coastal countries for undersea cable access.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are also concerned that landlocked developing countries do not have easy access to submarine cables\u201d Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, told reporters in Awaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd for those that are doubly landlocked, it is a bigger challenge because you must have good relations with your neighbours for you to be able to communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. \u201cWe stand at a pivotal moment, one that marks a profound shift from viewing these nations as isolated and constrained by geography to recognizing them as dynamic land-linked economies at the heart of Africa\u2019s socio-economic resurgence,\u201d said Samuel Doe, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ethiopia. A new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":60437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-60438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nAfrica's Land-Linked Economies Driving Prosperity - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cWe stand at a pivotal moment, one that marks a profound shift from viewing these nations as isolated and constrained by ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Africa's Land-Linked Economies Driving Prosperity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cWe stand at a pivotal moment, one that marks a profound shift from viewing these nations as isolated and constrained by ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-15T17:27:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-15T18:03:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/08\/sm_1755264566.559324.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1170\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"530\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Africa’s Land-Linked Economies Driving Prosperity\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-15T17:27:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-15T18:03:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity\"},\"wordCount\":626,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/08\/sm_1755264566.559324.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-land-linked-economies-driving-prosperity\",\"name\":\"Africa's Land-Linked Economies Driving Prosperity - 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