TRANSPORT POLICY AND LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES: HOW TO MINIMIZE GEOGRAPHICAL HANDICAP AND KEEP ABREAST OF GLOBAL BUSINESS COMPETENCES

This article examines geographical and non-geographical problems and difficulties that landlocked developing countries coped in regional and global sphere to strength global market competition, with primarily focus on Republic of Macedonia. The landlocked countries are seen as "geographical handicap" or “victims of geography” are countries without sea access, insulated from beneficial flows of better transport, transit and trade accessibility to preferred location. Efficient transit transport is crucial for landlocked nations. Due to their lack of territorial access to seaports and the prohibitive cost of airfreight, landlocked countries have to rely on the transport of goods by land through one or more neighboring countries. Despite the unfavorable geographical location, landlocked developing countries have insufficiently developed transport infrastructure, but also face other non-geographical factors, such as unregulated foreign policy with neighboring countries, certain trade restrictions, unsatisfactory institutional infrastructure, absence from regional integration ties, political crisis etc. The additional costs incurred together with problems of distance, make imports more expensive and render exports less competitive, thus putting landlocked countries at a disadvantage in the global economy. Today, in this context, when access to global markets is a necessary than ever, the main question is how "landlocked countries" should optimize their transport policy up to date with all the global events and developments, to develop their market competitiveness and management chain procurement.