A lot has changed since the 2003 Almaty Programme of Action (APoA). The average income per capita of Landlocked Developing Countries has grown 3.8 per year – well above the global average of 1.5 percent. Since 2000, the value of merchandise exports of LLDCs has also increased almost seven-fold. Nevertheless these states remain highly vulnerable to external economic shocks and climate change, two weaknesses that the Second UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries seeks to remedy.