The Jubilee Summit at the level of heads of state of the countries participating in the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) took place in Baku. The UN program includes Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It was established in 1998, and the current summit marks the 25th anniversary of the program.
In the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on the eve, SPECA's important role as a regional program contributing to mutual understanding, economic cooperation, and regional development was recognized. The document calls to "explore the possibility of establishing a multilateral partnership target fund of the UN to attract financial resources" for the implementation of projects within the Special Program.
Currently, Azerbaijan holds the chairmanship in the Program.
As a result of close cooperation, the member states of SPECA represent a successful regional model, stated the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. This is also a clear demonstration that Azerbaijan and the countries of Central Asia represent a unified political, economic, and geopolitical space.
It is noteworthy that, with the activation of new logistics infrastructure, the SPECA countries do not envision the participation of Russia in these processes.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
November 24, 2023