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His Excellency Mr. Lok Bahadur Thapa, Permanent Representative of Nepal and Chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of the LDCs,

His Excellency Mr. Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs,

Excellencies,

Colleagues,

At the outset, I thank the Chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of the LDCs for convening us today.

I also thank the Permanent Representatives of the LDCs for their ongoing support and cooperation with OHRLLS in terms of LLDC related issues and developments.

Excellencies,

This meeting provides an opportunity to share updates on developments for the Third United Nations Conference of Landlocked Developing Countries.

In my capacity as the Secretary-General of the LLDC3 Conference, I sent a letter to all missions on 18th April indicating that due to unforeseen circumstances, the Conference will not be held on the dates previously decided by the General Assembly.

A General Assembly decision is being made the postponement of the Conference.

The second session of the Preparatory Committee is also being deferred by one month, from the 3rd to the 5th of June.

My Office is now working closely with the host Country, the LLDC Group, and the Bureau of the Conference to determine the way forward on the rescheduling of the Conference.

Excellencies,

The LLDC Group of Ambassadors met on 22nd April. I would like to thank the group for its steadfast commitment and continued effort to make the LLDC3 Conference a success.

The LLDC Ambassadors are of the view that given the strong momentum & support generated for the LLDC3, efforts may be made to explore the possibilities of holding the Conference this year. If this does not work, the Government of Rwanda’s offer to host the Conference in 2025 stands.

New arrangements have not yet been determined and we will keep all Member States posted as soon as further decisions have been made. I am working closely with the LLDC Chair in this regard.

In the meantime, good progress has been achieved on the substantive negotiations for the Programme of Action for LLDC3.

Negotiations are now at an advanced stage with more than two-thirds of the 363 paragraphs already closed. The Member States are considering new compromise proposals prepared by the co-chairs to make progress on the outstanding paragraphs.

Good progress is also being made with respect to the other preparatory tracks for the Conference, including the tracks on civil society, private sector, youth, parliamentarians, a South-South Cooperation Ministerial Meeting, a “women leaders’ working lunch”, side events, an RC event, exhibitions, and press conferences.

These are all in an advanced stage of preparation.

The advisory groups that have been established for the Private Sector, Civil Society, and Youth forums have been engaged with respect to the postponement and are continuing their work on the determination of their respective outcome documents.

Excellencies,

The LLDC Group made it clear that the good momentum built towards LLDC3 should be maintained.

We have already received good responses from Heads of State to attend LLDC3 and will be communicating new arrangements as soon as they are determined.

My Office is making every effort to make the Conference successful and truly transformative.

As you are aware, 15 of the 32 LLDCs are LDCs.

Considering the shared interest and overlapping priorities between the LDCs and LLDCs, I count on your support for the success of LLDC3.

Before I conclude, I wish to thank my Colleague, Mr. Li Junhua from DESA, who will brief us on SIDS4 preparations.

I will rest it here.

I thank you.