SPECA: A Unique Platform for Regional Cooperation

Geneva, April 17, 2023 - Kazakhstan intends to efficiently utilize the potential of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) and calls for its further institutionalization and consolidation, stressed Mr. Alibek Kuantirov, Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, while addressing Dialogue of the SPECA participating States Ministers with Permanent Missions of UN Member-States, heads of international organizations, specialized agencies and NGOs that was held on April 17, 2023 in Geneva to mark the Special Programme’s 25th anniversary.

“We consider SPECA as a unique platform that brings together national initiatives, regional efforts and the UN expertise in our region”, he said.

Delegations from the SPECA participating States’ – Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – discussed measures related to trade facilitation, development of transit and transport infrastructure, digitalization and green technologies in order to promote trade and economic cooperation in the region and to achieve SDGs.

In their Joint Statement adopted as a result of the meeting, the Ministers reaffirmed their aspirations to transform SPECA into a more effective institution for regional integration with its own Trust Fund and encouraged third countries and international partners to support SPECA in implementing practical projects, including those aimed at promoting information exchange within the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

SPECA was launched in 1998 to strengthen sub-regional cooperation in Central Asia and has been working in such areas as trade, water and energy resources, transport, statistics, information and communication technologies and gender aspects in economy with the support from the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).