nCa Report
On 24 November 2023, the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the participating countries of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) was held in Baku.
The Summit was attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Hojamyrad Geldimuradov, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe Tatiana Molcean, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, as well as Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Jassem Al-Budaiwi.
The main outcome of the summit was the adoption of the Baku Declaration.
In the document, the Program member countries declared their intention to enhance the role of SPECA as a platform of economic cooperation and continuous dialogue in order to explore the ways of pursuing, in solidarity, opportunities for regional integration and formulation of common responses to shared emerging challenges, in particular through promoting interaction in priority areas such as connectivity, trade, transport and logistics, digital transformation and innovations, industry, energy, water management, environment, green transition and other areas of mutual interest.
Within the framework of the SPECA Days, from 20 to 24 November 2023, a number of other documents were also adopted:
- the Terms of Reference of SPECA;
- the Roadmap for the digitalization of multimodal exchange of data and documents along the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor using legal instruments and standards of the United Nations;
- Decisions of the 18th meeting of the SPECA Governing Council.
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“This year marks the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA). Currently, Azerbaijan holds the Chairmanship of SPECA. Multifaceted relations between our countries have developed successfully in the past 25 years, yet it is the first-ever Summit of the SPECA Member States,” President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev emphasized in his speech at the summit.
“Today, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan cooperate successfully across a number of multilateral platforms. Upon my invitation, the prime ministers of Georgia and Hungary and the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council are attending the Summit as the guests of honor. I am confident that the Summit with such a composition will pave the way to a broader format of economic cooperation,” he noted.
According to Aliyev, the factor uniting the SPECA countries is political stability. “Without stability, no economic growth can be achieved. Today, wars, conflicts and bloody clashes are raging in various regions across the globe, whereas, our countries enjoy peace, stability and security, with successful growth and development processes underway. This is a significant accomplishment and success of our states and peoples,” he added.
Further in his speech, he stated that Azerbaijan will allocate US $ 3.5 million to the SPECA Trust Fund, created under the auspices of the UN.
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The President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan shared his vision for the further development of SPECA .
“Our countries have great opportunities to expand trade and mutually beneficial cooperation. Already today we see a steady growth of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and the SPECA Member States. Last year, the volume of mutual trade increased by a third and amounted to almost 10 billion dollars. I believe that we can double this figure in the foreseeable future. SPECA countries are able to supply each other with many goods at competitive prices and thus reduce imports from other countries. Kazakhstan is ready to increase export to SPECA countries by 175 additional non-commodity items, worth 2.3 billion dollars. The creation of “green” corridors and the removal of various trade barriers will boost our trade cooperation, including in such areas as construction, chemical, and food industries. We are also open for relevant proposals from our partners”, the head of Kazakhstan emphasized.
Tokayev drew attention to the great potential for cooperation within the framework of SPECA in the field of industrial cooperation, ensuring food security, ecology, science, digital technologies, diversification of international transport and transit routes.
The President of Kazakhstan believes that the SPECA countries have become a continental bridge between Europe and Asia. “Over the past 15 years, our country has invested more than 35 billion dollars in transport infrastructure. Over the next three years, we plan to build over 1,300 kilometers of railways. This will increase transportation capacity towards China, South Asia, Russia and Europe. I invite all partners to expand the capacity of the Caspian Sea ports, as well as to the joint production of transport vessels. We count on active technical and expert support from the UNECE and ESCAP,” Tokayev noted.
At the end of his speech, Tokayev proposed Kazakhstan as the venue for one of the next SPECA summits.
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Transport connectivity became one of the main lines in the speech of the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov.
According to Japarov, expanding cooperation and strengthening ties with neighboring countries and regions will help increase markets, improve the exchange of knowledge and experience, and create new opportunities for development.
The need to diversify international transport corridors remains relevant for Kyrgyzstan.
“In this context, the strategic project of construction of the railroad “China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan” acquires special significance for our country and other neighboring countries of the region,” said the President of Kyrgyzstan.
The implementation of this mega-project will bring our region out of the transport deadlock in the shortest possible way, connect about four billion people, expand the geography of transportation from Asia through Turkey to Europe, the Middle East, Iran, the Persian Gulf and North Africa, he underlined.
In addition, Kyrgyzstan is working on the organization and implementation of cargo transportation along the route Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Iran – Türkiye – further to European countries, as well as along the route Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Iran – further to Saudi Arabia.
“We intend to use the Southern Trans-Caspian Corridor for road and rail transportation of goods from Kyrgyzstan and China to European countries, Georgia, and Azerbaijan,” Japarov said.
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President Emomali Rahmon emphasized that Tajikistan attaches great importance to strengthening cooperation within the framework of SPECA that is beneficial for the parties.
Most of the SPECA member countries occupy leading positions among the trade and economic partners of the republic, and Tajikistan’s trade turnover with the SPECA countries last year increased by 24%.
Rahmon welcomed the creation of the SPECA Trust Fund and proposed focusing on the following priority areas in the coming years, such as simplifying trade procedures and eliminating artificial barriers, expanding multimodal transport and economic corridors, developing a green economy and digitalization.
In this regard, Tajikistan supports the idea of creating the SPECA Secretariat.
Emomali Rahmon announced the Government’s decision regarding Tajikistan’s chairmanship of SPECA in 2024. Within the framework of the Concept of Tajikistan’s Chairmanship and its Implementation Plan, priorities will be aimed at strengthening existing results and ensuring new achievements.
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The first summit of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), taking place in Baku, marks an important stage for cooperation between the countries, said Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Hojamyrat Geldimyradov.
“Interest in Central Asia is growing every year. Our region is developing rapidly. The presence of natural resources here and the favorable geographical location are attractive for serious investments,” he said.
As the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized, Turkmenistan has intensified trade cooperation with the program countries in recent years.
The important role of SPECA was noted as an effective platform for economic cooperation and constant dialogue to promote cooperation between the parties in such priority areas as economy, trade, transport and logistics, digital transformation and innovation, industry, energy, water resources management, environment, “green transition” and other areas of mutual interest.
In the speech of the Turkmen side, it was noted that the first SPECA Summit marks another important stage in the cooperation of the participating states, designed to provide the necessary conditions for the stable and sustainable development of the region, the establishment of strong and effective mechanisms of interaction between states, the formation of viable schemes and models for the integration of the region into world processes as a worthy, equal, valuable partner.
In this regard, the head of the Turkmen delegation outlined the position of Turkmenistan on a number of key issues. In particular, it was stated that a significant event for each of the SPECA member states is the adoption on November 20, 2023 by unanimous decision of the UN General Assembly Resolution on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of SPECA, which emphasizes the important role of SPECA as a regional platform for promoting mutual understanding, economic cooperation and regional development of participating countries.
As an important step of the SPECA Days 2023, the Turkmen side also considers the promotion of joint efforts to create, under the auspices of the UN, the SPECA Multi-Partner Trust Fund, a financial instrument that provides a mechanism for the functioning of the Regional Program at a higher level.
It was emphasized that Turkmenistan supports the decision to approve the Roadmap for the digitalization of multimodal exchange of data and documents along the trans-Caspian transport corridor using legal instruments and UN standards.
Turkmenistan, together with regional partners, is actively developing an extensive network of transport and logistics infrastructure of a combined type along the East-West and North-South lines and advocates sustainable transport as a contribution to sustainable development.
Turkmenistan has supported and will actively cooperate in the implementation of the SPECA Work Plan for 2024-2025, including taking a more constructive and active participation in the work of thematic working groups, as well as with development partners.
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President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan has outlined a series of priorities for regional cooperation within the framework of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA).
Mirziyoyev called for a radical increase in the efficiency of working groups in key areas of partnership and for strengthening the institutional foundations of SPECA to transform the Program into a more effective regional platform for expanding economic cooperation.
He proposed developing the SPECA 2030 Development Concept in collaboration with experts from the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
To stimulate intraregional trade, Mirziyoyev emphasized the need to prepare a Joint Action Plan that outlines measures to eliminate existing barriers and harmonize technical regulation measures for export-import operations. He expressed confidence that this would allow SPECA’s trade turnover to increase from the current $52 billion to $100 billion by 2030, with industrial products accounting for 70% of this trade.
Mirziyoyev underlined the importance of creating and launching the SPECA Trust Fund in 2024. He envisioned the fund actively working with international development institutions to attract financial resources and grant funding for priority projects and programs on the most favorable terms. Uzbekistan, he said, is ready to make a financial contribution to the fund’s establishment.
In the field of transport connectivity, Mirziyoyev proposed holding an international forum titled “Digital Transport Corridors” in Uzbekistan in 2024. He also expressed the intention to actively promote, in collaboration with specialized UN institutions, large projects to strengthen transport connectivity in the region.
Mirziyoyev proposed establishing a special high-level working group on ensuring food security within SPECA and holding its first meeting in Samarkand in 2024.
Recognizing the interconnectedness of the spheres of water resources, energy, ecology, and agriculture, Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of adopting a comprehensive new conceptual document for SPECA – the multilateral “Green Strategy.”
Mirziyoyev called on his counterparts, the leadership of UNECE, and ESCAP to restore cooperation with Afghanistan within the SPECA framework. He stressed “We cannot afford to leave this country alone with its problems. A positive outcome cannot be achieved without engaging the current Government in international dialogue.”///nCa, 24 November 2023 [Photo credit – official website of President of Azerbaijan]
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