The International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) jointly organized on 14 October 2026 in Astana a one day regional dialogue on implementation of the “Awaza Programme of Action (PoA) for Landlocked Developing Countries 2024-2034”. The Event was held on the margins of the Astana “New Silk Way Forum”.
The Event comprised of 3 panels addressing issues associated with landlockedness as contained in Awaza PoA. The ECO Secretariat was represented in the second panel by its Director of Transport and Communications Seyed Jalaledin Alavi where impacts of regulatory and institutional reforms on the effective implementation of the PoA were discussed.
Referring to the role of the regional and sub-regional organisations under the Awaza PoA, the ECO representative briefed the panel on the current and future activities of the Organization in this regard. He also shared views on possible reforms at regional level to assit successful implementation of the PoA.
ECO is among the most Awaza PoA-relevant regions in the world where 7 out of 10 Member States are landlocked. Acknowledging the imperative of its engagement in regional and global attempts, the ECO is Secretariat is playing its role in cooperation with landlocked and transit Member States as well as its relevant partners. As the next step, a meeting is jointly planned with relevant UN Regional Commissions on 18 November 2026 on the sidelines of the ESCAP Transport Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok to discuss implementation of the Awaza PoA in ECO Region.
