Free Access to the Sea: Bilateral Transit and Transportation Agreements of LLDCs: Benefits and Bottlenecks-Case India and Nepal

Mongolia and Nepal are both landlocked developing countries with very different economic, trade and development profiles. Despite their dissimilarities, as landlocked countries they face similar transport issues including high transport costs, arising from lack of direct access to the sea, physical distance and administrative burdens associated with double border crossings amongst others. This paper analyses the trade and transport regimes of Mongolia and Nepal to understand common issues in the context of their relationship with key trade and transit partners. For instance while both countries have equal protection of the international legislative and normative frameworks, a key challenge is actualizing “free access to the sea”. Based on this analysis the paper seeks to set out policy recommendations for consideration from the trade, transit, trade facilitation and international regulatory framework perspective.