SPECA Ministerial Meeting held in Thailand under Kyrgyzstan’s chairmanship
The Ministerial Meeting of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) was held in Bangkok for the first time under the chairmanship of the Kyrgyz Republic, Kabar reports.
The meeting was chaired by Mederbek Tumanov, Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce of Kyrgyzstan.
This year, SPECA’s chairmanship was transferred to Kyrgyzstan. During the meeting, it was noted that the key priority of the Kyrgyz Republic’s chairmanship will be to develop transport and logistics connectivity across Central Asia.
According to Mederbek Tumanov, the main areas include developing sustainable transport and infrastructure, forming a regional hub, promoting the Middle Corridor, and implementing the China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan railway project, which is considered an important factor in strengthening economic ties in the region.
Particular attention was paid to the digitalization of transport corridors, particularly the implementation of the SPECA roadmap for multimodal data exchange within the framework of the Trans-Caspian route.
In addition, the parties discussed issues related to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, developing cross-border cooperation, and implementing initiatives to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Kyrgyz Republic also expressed its readiness to serve as a pilot country for implementing UN standards for electronic data exchange in freight transportation, which participating countries plan to adopt by 2027.
Aziza Alimova, UzA
