Neighbours can exacerbate impact of landlockedness

Valid to a point. The European countries mentioned or alluded to in the article absorbed labour and capital from the rest of Europe and accumulated it over the centuries. They have sound infrastructure and links to the rest of Europe that makes “landlockedness” superfluous.

Friday, November 10, 2017

Editor,

RE: "Rwanda can still achieve its devt agenda despite being landlocked” (The New Times, November 8).

Valid to a point. The European countries mentioned or alluded to in the article absorbed labour and capital from the rest of Europe and accumulated it over the centuries. They have sound infrastructure and links to the rest of Europe that makes "landlockedness” superfluous.

Countries like Switzerland have Germany and Italy (both export powerhouses) as neighbours. The Swiss can link up to these countries very easily and they have done so over the centuries.

Many African nations are landlocked with bad neighbours which is a double burden. Not to mention other problems. Good diplomacy is half the solution. I have no idea what the other half is. Realism as the writer suggested? Maybe. Time will tell.

Weisende Kuronya