An ECO delegation headed by Dr. Sayed Yahya Akhlaqi, Deputy Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization participated in the 2021 SPECA Economic Forum held on November 17, 2021. The Forum was jointly organized virtually by the UNESCA, UNECE and the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan under the theme of “Sustainable Transport and Trade for a Green and Inclusive Economy after Pandemic. High-level Representatives from SPECA countries, as well as regional and international organizations also attended the Forum.
In his statement Deputy Secretary General Dr. Sayed Yahya Akhlaqi informed the Forum on progressing projects between 7 SPECA countries which are also the member-states of Economic Cooperation Organization. The Deputy Secretary General underlined the priority to implement TTFA Agreement and emphasized that Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan to finalize the approaching to this Agreement. He stressed the need to commercialize railway corridors as well as shared views on the further projects in coordination with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and ECO-Trade Development Bank (ECO-TDB). He supported ongoing initiatives to strengthen the connectivity and resilience of transport systems.
Dr. Sayed Yahya Akhlaqi also called for strengthened regional cooperation in the areas of trade, transport, and digital connectivity through accession to and use of the United Nations legal norms, standards and best practice recommendations for sustainable transport and trade facilitation.
The Forum discussed complementarities between the implementation of short- to medium-term measures to support socioeconomic recovery and responding to the call for action to accelerate implementation of relevant international agendas such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Vienna Programme of Action. The Forum identified potential opportunities for enhanced cooperation to support sustainable and inclusive socio-economic recovery efforts in the sub-region.
