Online ReporterFreeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe, in collaboration with the United Nations, is holding a two-day national workshop to strengthen the capacity of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) to estimate transport and trade costs.
The workshop is also aimed at designing and implementing policies that promote connectivity and enhance utilisation of digital solutions for transport and trade facilitation for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The training, which started on Wednesday, involves interactive modules and engagement with relevant background materials and tools.
The training will be in-person and consist of presentations of the relevant topics by resource persons, along with groupwork and hands-on sessions. Participants will be given opportunities to share their experiences and recommendations.
According to the UN, trade is a powerful driver of development, but for landlocked developing countries, trading internationally can be far more complicated and costly than for others.
“Without direct access to ports, landlocked countries depend on neighbouring transit countries, adding layers of procedures, potential delays and extra costs,” reads a statement from the UN.
“The challenge goes beyond geography. Inadequate infrastructure, inefficient border processes and fragmented regulations contribute significantly to high trade costs, which can severely limit the ability of land locked developing countries to compete in global markets.
“The Awaza Programme of Action for LLDCs for the Decade 2024-2034 (APoA), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2024, renews a prioritisation of actions to support LLDCs in achieving sustainable development, including through addressing their high trade costs.
“This includes supporting LLDCs to measure and address the specific factors that drive these costs through practical tools and reliable data to diagnose where bottlenecks occur and how best to resolve them.”
The workshop is organised to support the implementation of the APoA and it aims to strengthen the capacity of LLDCs to estimate transport and trade costs and to design and implement policies that promote connectivity and enhanced utilisation of digital solutions for transport and trade facilitation.
It introduces a hybrid approach to trade and transport cost estimation, combining training on macro-level tools such as gravity models and global trade databases with hands-on methods like the Time Cost Distance Model (TCDM) and Border Performance Index (BPI).
The sessions aim to help participants gain both conceptual understanding and practical skills they can apply in real-world contexts.
“This workshop also offers a platform to build a network of committed practitioners from government, the private sector and academia,” said the UN.
“Collaborative learning creates opportunities for new ideas to emerge, partnerships to form and trade cost challenges to be addressed more effectively laying the foundation for meaningful and lasting improvements in trade performance.”
Expected outcomes include increased capacity of participants to estimate transport and trade costs and identify the binding constraints to national trade competitiveness; strengthened policy evidence aimed at enhancing efficiency in transport and trade facilitation; and strengthened collaboration and partnerships across government and with the private sector, academia, UN Resident Coordinator Offices, and UN technical and regional organisations.
