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Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia | 4–5 December 2025

Mongolia has reinforced its leadership among landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) by hosting a high level United Nations workshop aimed at reducing trade and transport costs through evidence based policymaking.

The two day national workshop, “From Data to Policy: Strengthening Trade and Transport Cost Analysis in LLDCs,” was held on 4–5 December 2025 in Ulaanbaatar and brought together more than 50 policymakers, technical experts, academics and private sector representatives. The event was convened by the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN OHRLLS), in collaboration with UNESCAP, UNCTAD, the Government of Mongolia, and the International Think Tank for LLDCs.

Opening the workshop, Mr. Tomas Manuel Gonzalez Alvarez, Team Lead for LLDCs at UN OHRLLS, commended Mongolia’s longstanding commitment to championing the interests of landlocked countries.

“Mongolia has long been an active and constructive voice for landlocked developing countries in the United Nations, and today’s workshop is yet another demonstration of that commitment,” Mr. Gonzalez Alvarez said.

He recalled Mongolia’s historic role in establishing the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries in 1994, laying the foundation for a collective voice at the United Nations.

Turning Data Into Policy Action

The workshop forms part of a broader UN OHRLLS project designed to help LLDCs better measure transport and trade costs and translate that evidence into effective national policies. Mongolia was selected as one of only four pilot countries worldwide, alongside Burundi, Zimbabwe and Kyrgyzstan.

“This selection reflects not only Mongolia’s strategic position at the crossroads of Asia,” Mr. Gonzalez Alvarez noted, “but also its strong commitment to enhancing trade and transport connectivity for the benefit of its people and the broader community of landlocked developing countries.”

Participants were introduced to a range of globally recognized analytical tools, including gravity models, hybrid estimation approaches, Time–Cost–Distance analysis, and cross border performance indicators. These tools allow policymakers to assess transport corridors, border procedures and regulatory bottlenecks at both macro and micro levels.

“The challenge is to move from knowledge to action,” Mr. Gonzalez Alvarez emphasized. “This workshop is precisely about that shift—ensuring that analytical tools are not only understood in theory, but applied in practice to build lasting institutional capacity.”

Key Findings and Policy Priorities

Discussions during the workshop highlighted persistent challenges affecting Mongolia’s trade competitiveness, including high transport costs driven by border delays, infrastructure gaps, and fragmented data systems. Participants underscored the need for better coordination between hard infrastructure investments and “soft” trade facilitation measures such as customs modernization and regulatory harmonization.

The workshop also emphasized the importance of developing an integrated national trade and transit database, strengthening dry port development, and aligning trade and transport reforms with Mongolia’s broader industrialization and economic diversification strategies, in line with the Awaza Programme of Action for LLDCs 2024–2034.

Stakeholder Perspectives

Participants welcomed the practical focus of the training and its relevance to real world policymaking.

“The Time–Cost–Distance models and analytical tools introduced during this workshop will greatly support our efforts to better understand key challenges and solutions in the trade and transport sector,” said Mr. Sandavdorj Sumiyadorj, Head of Staff to the Chief of Ulaanbaatar Railway JVC.

Mrs. Delgertsetseg Kharaidkhii, Director of ACWTRANS Co., Ltd., highlighted the value of combining approaches.

“I learned a great deal about macro and micro level analytical tools, including top down, bottom up and hybrid approaches. These will be very useful for comprehensive sector analyses,” she said.

Academia also saw strong benefits. Mrs. Tumenjargal Boldbaatar, Professor of Logistics Management at the Railway University of Mongolia, described the tools as “user friendly” and well suited for practical application.

Looking Ahead

The Ulaanbaatar workshop marks an important milestone in the second phase of the UN OHRLLS project. Its outcomes will feed into a global level LLDC workshop scheduled for March 2026, where pilot countries will share lessons learned and demonstrate how data driven tools can inform national and regional reforms.

Concluding his remarks, Mr. Gonzalez Alvarez stressed the broader significance of the initiative.

“Better data and better analysis can lead to better policies—and better lives,” he said. “If we succeed in turning data into policy, and policy into concrete progress on the ground, this workshop will have made a real contribution to Mongolia and to landlocked developing countries worldwide.”