麻豆传媒

Excellencies, 
Distinguished delegates, 
Colleagues and Friends,

I am  happy to join this important dialogue on harnessing the power of science, technology and innovation (STI) to transform the development landscape for the world’s 32 Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs).

I thank the United Nations Technology Bank for convening us, and for its steadfast commitment to supporting the technological transformation of the world’s most vulnerable countries, including LLDCs. 

Over the past three days, we have heard powerful testimony on the structural constraints that geography imposes on LLDCs: long and expensive trade routes, unusual border delays, and disproportionately high transport costs. 

LLDCs are situated an average of 1,300?kilometers from the nearest seaport. Their overall development level is nineteen?per?cent lower than that of non landlocked peers.
Foreign direct investment has declined by two?per?cent a year since 2014. And too many remain at the margins of global value chains, innovation networks, and digital commerce.

Yet geography is not destiny. Technology can help LLDCs transcend physical barriers, open new markets, and unleash the potential of their people.

A smartphone can connect an entrepreneur from Kigali or Ashgabat to customers across the world.

A satellite link can connect classrooms across continents. A drone can deliver lifesaving medicines across flood plains. 

Technology is the bridge, and innovation is the engine that can carry LLDCs toward a more prosperous, connected future.

The Awaza Programme of Action has articulated specific targets, commitments, and deliverables to place science, technology and innovation at the heart of structural transformation and calls for urgent and coordinated action to unlock the full potential of STI. 

Allow me to highlight four priorities that will help meet the ambitions of APOA. 

First, we must close the digital divide and expand resilient, inclusive infrastructure.

Only 39 per cent of people in LLDCs use the Internet today compared to the global average of 68 per cent. In some LLDCs, rural broadband access remains below 20 per cent. 

The gender digital divide is equally concerning, with women’s access to internet being 9 per cent less.

These numbers represent millions of missed opportunities.

The Programme of Action calls for universal, affordable connectivity - from community networks and satellite links to harmonised digital regulations. 

Investments in digital public infrastructure will unlock access to finance, health, education, and employment, reducing the hidden cost of distance that LLDCs disproportionately bear. 

Second, we must invest in human capital and innovation ecosystems. 

Innovation thrives when it is rooted in local context. When we equip young people, especially girls and women, with digital skills and entrepreneurial tools, they can use their knowledge to solutions no outside expert could imagine. 

 This requires aligning education systems with the demands of digital economy, establishing national innovation funds, and strengthening networks of incubators and hubs that keep talent at home. 

The Programme of Action urges us to establish research centres and enhance patenting capacity - and to build regional peer to peer platforms so that ideas can circulate as freely as data.

Third, we must integrate STI strategies into national planning and budgetary frameworks. 

STI is not a standalone sector - it is a catalyst across all domains of development. Integrating frontier technologies - such as AI, big data, precision agriculture, and clean energy - into national strategies can boost productivity, strengthen climate resilience, and drive inclusive growth.

Effective STI governance also requires safeguards: robust regulatory frameworks, strong digital rights protection, and trust-based institutions that ensure no one is left behind in the digital transition.

Fourth, we must mobilise inclusive, results driven partnerships and finance. 

LLDCs cannot do this alone.

We need a new wave of inclusive, results-driven investment to power the STI agenda - through blended finance, catalytic grants, concessional lending, and technology transfer on fair and mutually agreed terms.

Excellencies,

The Doha Programme of Action,the Compromiso de Sevilla, and now the Awaza Programme have laid a clear roadmap to utilize the transformative power of STI for the structural transformation of the most vulnerable countries, including the LLDCs. 

What we need now is implementation - bold, inclusive, and sustained.

Our shared goal is not simply to connect LLDCs to global networks, but to empower the 600 million women, men, and youth who live in these countries to become innovators, entrepreneurs, and agents of transformation in their own right.

And in this context, the UN technology Bank for LDCs as a focal point for STI transformation in LDCs has a catalytic role to play in supporting these countries. As you are aware, half of the LDCs are also LLDCs, which makes the role of the Technology Bank especially relevant for the LLDCs. 

I call upon all partners to provide necessary and sustained support to the UNTB to fulfill its critical mandate.

At OHRLLS, we remain your steadfast partner and advocate. 

Let us commit to making STI a powerful engine for equality, prosperity, and resilience for all LLDCs.

I thank you.