Baku Summit highlights Central Asia's role in trade and transport
The role of Central Asia in diversifying transit routes, developing trade and transport, were among the main topics of discussion at the summit of the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), which took place yesterday in Baku.
The meeting also took place in the context of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Special Program. On this occasion, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing the important role of SPECA in promoting economic cooperation and regional development.
The member states of the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) are actively cooperating in various formats and intend to strengthen their relations, said their leaders gathered on Friday at the summit in Baku.
The strong economy of Azerbaijan allows it to pursue an independent foreign policy, said the president of the host country, Ilham Aliyev, quoted by the official press agency in Baku, Azertag. In this context, he specified that over $310 billion have been invested in the economy of Azerbaijan in the past 20 years, of which almost $200 billion are destined for the non-energy sector.
According to Ilham Aliyev, in the past 20 years, the gross domestic product of Azerbaijan has grown fourfold, budget revenues have grown by over 30 times, and the turnover of foreign trade by over ten times.
The member states of SPECA have great potential in the field of industrial cooperation, noted the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, quoted by the Turkish news agency, Anadolu. According to him, the region plays a huge role in the development and diversification of international transport and transit routes, especially the Trans-Caspian route.
It is worth noting that the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia was established on March 26, 1998. The purpose of the program is to support participating countries in economic development, cooperation, and integration into the economies of Europe and Asia.
The member states of SPECA are Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
