United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday called on the international community to “break down barriers and restore fairness in global development,” during opening remarks at the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3) in Awaza, Turkmenistan.

The conference , held from August 5 to 8, 2025, brings together representatives from the 32 landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), which together comprise over 500 million people. Despite this, the LLDCs account for only around one percent of global trade. In his address, Guterres warned that without bold reform, geography will continue to dictate who has opportunities:

Geography should never define destiny. Yet for the 32 Landlocked Developing Countries across Africa, Asia, Europe,

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