Co-Chaired by Austria, India and Rwanda, the Group of Friends of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) will serve as a critical informal platform to raise international recognition and awareness, build consensus and strengthen partnerships in favor of LLDCs.

The revitalized Group is particularly important in the lead-up to the Third UN Conference on LLDCs that was decided by the UN General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/76/217 of 17 December 2021. The Conference has the mandate to: undertake a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for LLDCs for the Decade 2014-2024 (VPoA); formulate and adopt a renewed framework for international support to address the special needs of LLDCs; and strengthen partnerships between LLDCs, transit countries and their development partners.

In this context, the importance of the Group of Friends was emphasized in the Ministerial Declaration adopted during the last Annual Ministerial Meeting of LLDCs (September 2022), which called for the active participation and support of the Group of Friends in the preparations for the Third UN Conference on LLDCs and at the Conference itself.

Meetings

• First meeting (23 November 2022)