The President of the Kyrgyz Republic spoke at the summit of Heads of State of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) in Baku.
According to Sadyr Japarov, for a quarter of the century since the establishment of the SPECA in 1998, the countries have achieved significant progress on the path of sustainable development and integration into the world economy.
«We are in a unique geopolitical position, which opens up vast opportunities for us to develop transit routes, trade and economic growth. Over the past years, the SPECA has made a significant contribution to strengthening economic stability, developing infrastructure, supporting education and healthcare, achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and reducing poverty in Central Asia,» he said.
The President added that due to climate change and the difficult geopolitical situation, the world economy, which has just begun to emerge from the crisis after the COVID-19 pandemic, is now facing new challenges and risks.
He noted that during the period of large-scale transformation of the world economic system, the internal potential of the countries made it possible to restore economic activity, and modern challenges opened up new opportunities and prospects for us.
«Today we can confidently talk about the existing prerequisites for intensifying economic cooperation through the promotion of international trade, transit transportation, infrastructure development, the introduction of digital technologies and regional integration. We see prospects in expanding cooperation and strengthening our ties with neighboring countries and regions. This will help increase our markets, improve the exchange of knowledge and experience, and create new opportunities for development,» the head of the Kyrgyz Republic said.
The need to diversify international transport corridors remains relevant for the Kyrgyz Republic.
According to Sadyr Japarov, this will reduce dependence on one or more transit routes, create conditions for improving economic stability, security and reduce risks when transporting goods and passengers.
«In this context, the strategic project for the construction of China — Kyrgyzstan — Uzbekistan railway is of particular importance for our country and other neighboring countries in the region. The implementation of this mega-project in the shortest possible way will lead our region out of the transport impasse, connect about 4 billion people, expand the geography of transportation from Asia through Turkey to Europe, the Middle East, Iran, the Persian Gulf countries and North Africa. In addition, we are working on organizing and carrying out cargo transportation along Kyrgyzstan — Uzbekistan — Turkmenistan — Iran — Turkey route, then to European countries, as well as along the route Kyrgyzstan — Uzbekistan — Turkmenistan — Iran, then 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. Taking into account the characteristics of each country in the SPECA region, it is important to encourage an increase in the volume of multimodal transportation and create favorable conditions for this, including through the harmonization of legal regimes,» he noted.
The UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) was established on March 26, 1998 by the Tashkent Declaration. The document was signed by the presidents of the Central Asian countries and the executive secretaries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
