Recently, Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, hosted the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia ( SPECA ).
This program, which has typically gone unnoticed for the majority of its existence, was established in 1998 with the aim of fostering participation among the Central Asian nations and facilitating their inclusion into the world economy.
Afghanistan is also included, in addition to the five Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The Organization of Turkic States ( OTS ) has historically been the most significant format for establishing regional cooperation among the nations of the Caspian region. Their goal to increase regional cooperation through SPECA is indicated by the meeting in Baku.
In order to achieve this, on November 24, official Baku convened a transport community, the working class on trade, and several other gatherings during the week marked by the SPECA places ‘ Summit of Heads of State.
So, the meeting in Baku clarified Azerbaijan’s crucial contribution to fostering connectivity in Central Asia. Additionally, it confirmed a proper position of the individuals that emphasizes the power, transportation, and communication sectors and was initially driven by Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
Azerbaijan defined its perception of the nation as a crucial Asian transport and logistics connection in this context.
Baku has been promoting regional integration and broader European monetary cooperation by capitalizing on its regional centrality. For a vision goes beyond implementing programs for administrative system with an focus on the East- West” Middle Corridor” projects to adopt an essential rebalancing of local financial corridors.
For the next 20 to 25 years, the geography of the area will be shaped by the effects of such continued growth.
Enhancing connectivity, particularly in the context of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route ( TITR ), has been a key goal of SPECA. Given the inland landscape of Central Asia and the associated higher logistics costs, this is essential to its success.
The Central Asian nations and Azerbaijan merged as the foundation for transportation and logistics between China, Turkey, and Europe with the TITR’s start at the end of 2018 and the business of the Lapis Lazuli course a year later.
As the needs and priorities of the area have changed over time, SPECA’s program focus has changed. Green development, connectivity, and financial integration have been its most recent crucial focus areas.
improved accessibility
Azerbaijan, who served as chair of the 2023 SPECA Economic Forum, set the program’s potential program by stating that its design would be” Transforming the SpecA area into a communication hub with international outreach.”
This concept builds on accomplishments like the 2021 Forum’s Tashkent Statement, which, in addition to communication, focused on sustainable transportation and trade, and the 2019 SPECA Economic Forum that produced the connectivity-focused Ashgabat Initiative.
Another area that has received a lot of interest from SPECA is local electricity networks. In order to increase the affordability, dependability, and sustainability of energy supply, the UN Program is collaborating with participating nations on initiatives to expand energy transit routes and sources.
The creation of equipment for large-scale power generation and the addition of renewable energy sources receive particular attention.
The area will be transformed into a long-lasting hub for trade, transportation, and international mentoring as part of SPECA’s future plans. The 2023 Forum’s last conference concentrated on strategic vision following expert-level meetings and discussions to develop new initiatives in trade, transportation, digitisation, and energy.
In this context, it paid particular attention to fostering global cooperation over the course of the following 25 years in order to consolidate monetary assistance and inclusion.
The OTS served as the main institutional pillar through which the involved says promoted these corridors ‘ application. The initiative’s guiding construction document has been its charter on” Turkic World Vision 2040,” which was adopted in Istanbul in November 2021.
Since then, agreements have been made to enhance local transportation and logistics corridor efficiency, lessen customs restrictions, foster preferred trade, carry out energy projects, create joint investment funds, and carry other similar initiatives.
The OTS nations ‘ decision to use the SPECA program to develop and substitute the regional cooperation integration tools they have up until now is signaled by the Baku meeting.
At the invitation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who presided over the summit, the prime ministers of Georgia and Hungary, as well as the secretary of the Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC), were in Baku.
Additionally, he supported the UN’s program to establish a bilateral partnership trust fund to raise money for SPECA projects.
These SPECA program developments represent a significant change in local dynamics. Beyond the participation of Central Asian nations and Azerbaijan, the expansion of the OTS-based relationship in the Caspian Sea region will place the country’s economic inclusion, connectivity, and sustainable development within a broader “meta-regional” framework and context.
The state’s strategic importance for the future development of global network and geo-economics is merely emphasized by the addition of new colleagues like Georgia, Hungary, and the GCC, which are all part of the SPECA model.
The development of Central Asia and its neighbors as key hubs in Asian trade and cooperation is confirmed by the new initiatives mentioned above, including energy growth, transportation and logistics corridors, and a bilateral agreement confidence fund.
Programs like SPECA’s cooperation with the vision before outlined by the OTS appears likely to propel transformational economic growth and balance in the area, giving it a stronger presence in global economic activity.