The International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries (ITTLLDC) is an intergovernmental organization and think tank based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It conducts research and policy analysis on trade, transit, and development issues concerning landlocked developing countries.

First proposed by the Government of Mongolia in 2006, the Think Tank was launched in July 2009 by then-United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Think Tank was transformed into an intergovernmental organization following the entry into force of the Multilateral Agreement for the Establishment of an International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries on 6 October 2017.

The Think Tank has held permanent observer status in the United Nations General Assembly since December 2018. As of 2026, 15 states are parties to the Agreement.

Officials of the Mongolian Government have described ITTLLDC as the first intergovernmental organization headquartered in Mongolia.

History The idea of a specialized research organization for landlocked developing countries was first raised during the 2003 International Ministerial Conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan. At the first summit of heads of state and government of landlocked developing countries, held in Havana in September 2006, then-Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar proposed that an international research centre for the group be established in Ulaanbaatar.

A meeting of trade ministers of landlocked developing countries in Ulaanbaatar on 28–29 August 2007 adopted the Ulaanbaatar Declaration, which urged that the future think tank be established in Ulaanbaatar and requested the support of international organizations and donor countries.

In October 2008 the General Assembly's declaration on the midterm review of the Almaty Programme welcomed "the proposal to set up in Ulaanbaatar an international think tank". In April 2009 the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) adopted resolution 65/6 supporting the proposal and requested its secretariat to provide technical assistance.

Launch and interim period Ban Ki-moon and Mongolia's foreign minister, Sükhbaataryn Batbold, launched the Think Tank in Ulaanbaatar in July 2009, during the Secretary-General's official visit to Mongolia.

In resolution 64/214 of 21 December 2009, the General Assembly welcomed the establishment of the Think Tank and invited the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) and other bodies to assist in its operations.

UN-OHRLLS drafted a multilateral agreement on the Think Tank in partnership with the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. The ninth Annual Ministerial Meeting of Landlocked Developing Countries endorsed the final text at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 24 September 2010. The agreement was opened for signature from 1 November 2010 to 31 October 2011, and was to enter into force 60 days after the tenth instrument of ratification or accession was deposited.

Until the agreement entered into force, the Think Tank worked under interim management, with support from the Mongolian government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Nepal deposited its instrument on 7 August 2017, and the agreement entered into force on 6 October 2017. It is registered in the United Nations Treaty Series under number 54748.

Inauguration The Think Tank held its inaugural meeting at Mongolia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 11–12 June 2018.

At Mongolia's request, the General Assembly considered granting the Think Tank observer status at its seventy-third session, subsequently adopting resolution 73/217 on 20 December 2018. On 12 April 2019 the Think Tank and the Government of Mongolia signed a host country agreement.

The Vienna Programme of Action for 2014–2024 called on landlocked developing countries to use the Think Tank for sharing experience and research on trade, transit and transport, and to ratify the agreement.

Its successor, the Awaza Programme of Action for 2024–2034, adopted by the General Assembly on 24 December 2024, called for "strengthening the International Think Tank" and invited it to help improve the collection and analysis of data on remittances.

Membership As of September 2026, the following 15 states are parties to the agreement: State Signature Ratification (r), approval (AA) or accession (a) 19 October 2011 20 February 2013 (r) 28 October 2011 19 November 2012 (r) — 1 March 2019 (a) — 3 April 2018 (a) — 10 November 2016 (a) 22 September 2011 9 January 2018 (r) — 3 February 2015 (a) — 1 June 2017 (a) 27 September 2011 26 September 2012 (r) 25 April 2011 8 November 2011 (AA) — 7 August 2017 (a) 26 September 2011 17 October 2018 (r) 22 September 2011 29 December 2016 (r) — 5 July 2017 (a) — 22 January 2025 (a)

See also Landlocked developing countries Foreign relations of Mongolia Third neighbor policy

References

Other sources

External links

Status of the Multilateral Agreement at the United Nations Treaty Collection