Kazakhstan’s President Tokayev Unveils Perspective for UN Special Program in Central Asia
Kazakhstan’s President Outlines Vision for SPECA Development at United Nations Summit
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan shared his country’s vision for the further development of the United Nations (UN) Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) at the first Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Participating Countries of the SPECA on November 24th in Baku. The summit was reported by the Akorda press service.
As the initiator of the creation of SPECA in 1997, President Tokayev expressed Kazakhstan’s pride in witnessing its progression into an effective platform for expanding regional cooperation and integrating into global economic processes. He underscored the symbolic significance of the event as it coincided with the 25th anniversary year of the SPECA and noted the tangible steps taken to reinforce cooperation across key SPECA areas under Kazakhstan’s chairmanship last year.
President Tokayev emphasized the relevance of SPECA’s role amid geopolitical fragmentation and a rapidly changing global economic environment. He reiterated Kazakhstan’s commitment to ensuring an inclusive future where all citizens benefit equally from social, technological, and economic progress. To achieve this, he shared that Kazakhstan has already synchronized 80% of its state budget with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and highlighted the strengthening of protection for vulnerable categories of citizens through a new Social Code.
In terms of trade opportunities, the President emphasized the three-fold increase to approximately $10 billion in turnover between Kazakhstan and the SPECA member countries, striving to double this figure. He stressed that SPECA members can provide each other with various goods at competitive prices, reducing imports from other countries, and expressed readiness to increase exports to SPECA countries across 175 non-primary commodity items worth $2.3 billion.
On the industrial front, President Tokayev highlighted the significant potential for developing and producing innovative machinery for various sectors and expressed Kazakhstan’s aspiration to contribute to food security by actively engaging with SPECA countries and advocating the establishment of the SPECA Trust Fund to stimulate investment cooperation.
The President also underscored the region’s crucial role in international transport and transit routes and revealed plans to build over 1,300 kilometers of railways within the next three years to increase capacity towards China, Europe, Russia, and South Asia.
Environmental collaboration was also a focal point, with President Tokayev calling for a unified action plan to address the complex environmental situation in the Caspian Sea and stressing the need to intensify joint efforts on transitioning to alternative energy sources.
Digital technology and artificial intelligence were identified as promising areas for cooperation, with Kazakhstan intending to bring IT exports to $1 billion by 2026.
President Tokayev concluded by expressing confidence that the summit would result in specific mechanisms to enhance the SPECA’s effectiveness and strengthen friendship and strategic partnership among member countries. The summit also saw remarks from other participating leaders, including President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán, Deputy Chairman of Turkmenistan’s Cabinet of Ministers Khojamurad Geldimuradov, and other distinguished figures.
The President also conveyed Astana’s support for the institutionalization of SPECA and proposed creating a special working group and holding a panel session at the Astana International Forum next June.
