Central Asian countries on November 24 adopted the Ganja Declaration on “Enhanced Implementation of SDGs through Cooperation”, at the Governing Council of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA).

The Declaration demonstrates a common vision for the subregion centered on a firm commitment to strengthen collaboration and policy coherence for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.  It also strategically repositions SPECA as a platform for promoting policy coordination and coherence among SPECA countries.

While SPECA participating countries have made clear progress in integrating the Goals into their national development strategies and in establishing national coordination mechanisms, they recognized that enhancing regional economic cooperation and integration will be vital for reviving and rebalancing economic growth and laying the foundations for sustainable development.  The shared vulnerabilities of the subregion, exacerbated by external economic shocks, rising inequalities, and the impacts of changing climate, further provide compelling reasons for strengthened connectivity and regional cooperation.

The 2016 SPECA Economic Forum and the 11th session of the SPECA Governing Council were held on November 22 and 23 in Ganja, Azerbaijan, the present country-chair of the Programme.

More than 80 participants, including high-level policymakers at the Ministerial level, representatives the UN system and international organizations, as well as civil society, academia and the private sector were also present.

SPECA was established in 1998 by the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan joining the program soon afterwards. Supported by two United Nations General Assembly resolutions, the purpose of SPECA is to enhance subregional cooperation in order to meet the pressing economic development challenges of its members.

ESCAP provides countries with expertise in trade, infrastructure connectivity, data and statistics, disaster risk reduction and other areas to support SPECA participating countries in transforming their economies and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.