Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to welcome
you here, and express my gratitude for
your coming to this important conference.
The purpose of this conference
is:
-
To assess the
results of the implementation of the
initial goals, agreed upon by five
Central Asian countries at the start
of the United Nations Special Programme
for the Economies of Central Asia,
five years ago. I would like to remind
you that on 28 March 1998, the Presidents
of four Central Asian States - Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
- and the Executive Secretaries of
the two United Nations regional commissions
- UNECE and ESCAP - signed the Tashkent
Declaration on the United Nations
Special Programme for the Economies
of Central Asia (SPECA). In November
2002, Azerbaijan joined the Presidential
Programme.
-
To discuss possibilities
of increasing the impact of SPECA
by identifying new ways for cooperation.
-
To share experience
among and strengthen coordination
between all multilateral and bilateral
actors active in Central Asia.
As you are all aware,
SPECA set ambitious initial goals: to
achieve efficiency in managing water and
energy resources, to integrate the SPECA
member Countries into the Asian-European
transportation system, to promote sub-regional
cooperation and attract foreign investment,
to boost the development of SMEs and the
development of pipeline transportation
of hydrocarbons to global markets.
The results of implementation
were, however, mixed and only partially
achieved due to various reasons. Lack
of resources, instability, lack of political
will, and developmental problems such
as: underdeveloped physical infrastructure,
unsustainable production patterns and,
hence, severely damaged environment, were
the factors that have slowed down and
impeded the realization of the SPECA initial
goals.
The Central Asian countries,
although very different, have experienced
a deep contraction of production, which
in some instances, has led to de-industrialization,
and a sharp increase of poverty and, hence,
to a negative adjustment of human resources.
Initial comparative advantages have been
eroded, especially in the area of human
resources and social welfare. Some of
the SPECA member States joined the ranks
of the poor developing economies despite
the fact that they do not benefit from
the official status of developing country
in international organisations such as
the World Trade Organisation.
This does not mean, however,
that the sub-region is destined to be
marginalized. Central Asia is rich in
natural and human resources, and thus
its economic potential, if properly utilized,
could boost the development process. However,
progress in reforms in Central Asia differs
considerably: Among the five Central Asian
countries there are front runners but
also countries that have not completed
the basic reforms. Even the front runners
have to implement structural and institutional
reforms, develop market infrastructure
that provides incentives for people to
innovate and create new products and services,
ensuring sustainable economic growth.
The need for convergence
in reforms is indispensable, not only
for the sustainability of economic and
fiscal developments of SPECA members,
but also for deepening the economic integration
between them. Most of the SPECA countries
have concluded bilateral trade agreements
and some are parties to plurilateral trade
arrangements. At the same time trade arrangements
do not work properly and the parties do
not benefit from them adequately. Despite
the fact that SPECA is not focused primarily
on trade arrangements, the activities
of SPECA through the development of cooperation
in areas such as transport, energy, water,
etc., support economic integration among
the SPECA countries.
Cooperation among the
SPECA countries in other areas, such as:
SMEs, tourism, transport infrastructure,
ICT, etc., could further deepen integration
to the benefit of the Central Asian countries
and could provide its population with
new income opportunities and, hence, contribute
to reducing poverty.
Although the sub-region
is land-locked, its geographical position
between Europe and Asia makes it strategically
important for the development of global
trade and could provide the countries
with additional opportunity to earn on
transit. The SPECA countries have taken
the first step to make use of this opportunity
by joining international conventions in
the area of transport. They could further
improve their position on the global market
by facilitating cross border movement
of goods, services and people among themselves
and, therefore, broadening the economy
of scale, reducing inter-state tension
and making the sub-region more attractive
to foreign investors.
Over the past five years UNECE, in close
cooperation with ESCAP, has provided technical
support to SPECA countries in implementing
their goals mainly in two areas: management
of water and energy resources, and transport.
The results achieved, while important,
are below those initially anticipated.
Much more could have been done if all
SPECA countries cooperated. This Conference
is an opportunity to further develop and
extend SPECA activities in order to better
meet the expectations of its member States.
It should be also noted
that UNECE involvement in Central Asia
goes beyond SPECA. The Commission has
extended its activities related to the
promotion of entrepreneurship, enterprise
and SME development to the sub-region,
including in the areas crucial for the
formation and advancement of the knowledge-based
economy.
Using the opportunity
of the presence of representatives of
partner organizations and the donor community,
I would like to invite them to consider
possible means to magnify the impact of
international assistance to the Central
Asian countries, including by joining
efforts and pooling resources. There is
still a lot of duplication, overlapping
and unnecessary rivalry, while sometimes
obvious complementarity is ignored.
I would like to wish
you success in your deliberations.
Thank you for your attention.
_________