President of Kazakhstan: Landlockedness not death sentence, but incentive for growth

Landlockedness can be a powerful driver of growth rather than a barrier, given political will, strategic investment and international partnership, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in Turkmenistan at the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC), Report informs.

The president stressed that Kazakhstan, together with its partners, is making significant efforts to strengthen regional connectivity.

"We are prioritizing the development of transport corridors and transit infrastructure along the North-South and Middle Corridor routes. Our long-term goal is to create a unified network of rail, road, aviation and logistics centers. This will strengthen Kazakhstan's position as a Eurasian transit hub, which currently accounts for almost 85% of overland cargo deliveries between Asia and Europe," Tokayev noted.

According to him, the country is actively investing in digitalization: "Kazakhstan has created the Alem.AI Artificial Intelligence Center in Astana and recently launched a supercomputer. Our doors are open for scientific cooperation, and we invite partners to join us."

Tokayev also noted that, as the experience of Central Asia shows, geography does not determine destiny.

"We are moving from the current state of being landlocked to a future where land connectivity will be no less important," he said, emphasizing that Central Asia has become a region of mutually beneficial interaction with dynamically developing potential in the fields of trade, investment, transport, communications, and sustainable resource management.