Sub-regional Workshop on “Fostering Structural Transformation and Export Diversification in Selected Asian Landlocked Developing Countries” was jointly organized in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 16 to 17 October 2018 by the International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries, UN Conference on Trade and Development and the Government of Mongolia.

During the workshop, the International Think Tank for LLDCs, in cooperation with UNCTAD, introduced research results on structural economic transformation and export diversification, which is identified as Priority 5 in the Vienna Programme of Action for LLDCs.

Government representatives from Mongolia, Lao PDR, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan made presentations on the challenges, policies and best practices to diversify their economies.

The outcome of the workshop will help guide trade policy formulation and implementation at the national and sub-regional levels. It will contain a synthesis of the identified areas of trade potential, local gaps and limitations, together with policy recommendations aimed at addressing the challenges facing countries of the sub-region.

The results of the workshop will also feed into the mid-term review of the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for LLDCs in 2019.