The SPECA summit that was held in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, on November 24 adopted that the Baku Declaration. The declaration endorses a roadmap for the digitalization of multimodal data and document exchange along the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor and welcomed plans to establish a dedicated SPECA Multi-Partner Trust Fund.
Highlighting the importance of the Trans-Caspian trade and transport corridor as one of the most efficient and sustainable links between Asia and Europe, the participants of the SPECA Week called for improvement of transport connectivity throughout the corridor by enhancing effective communications between transport companies, freight forwarders, logistics centers, and national operators.
The Roadmap for the Digitalization of Multimodal Data and Document Exchange along the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor endorsed at the Summit will help ensure seamless, real-time data exchange across supply chains and enhancing transport efficiency using the UN digital standards and legal instruments in SPECA participating States by 2027.
It stipulates, among other things, using digital standards to ensure data interoperability across different transport modes, and implementing smart transport solutions including the eTIR ('TIR' stands for Transports Internationaux Routiers — International Road Transport) international system based on the UNECE TIR Convention.
It also emphasizes participation in business-to-business (B2B) operational supply chain data exchanges, multimodal freight information interoperability, aligning port community systems with UN/CEFACT standards and the use of eCMR (CMR stands for Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road) based on the UNECE CMR Convention.
The implementation of the roadmap will require a strong capacity-building component benefitting both the public and private sectors in the SPECA participating. SPECA Working Groups on trade, transport, and innovation will be engaged to strengthen work in support of this initiative.
One of the key topics for the region is energy connectivity and the shift to greener and more sustainable energy sources.
Participants of the SPECA Week have also discussed a range of issues related to environmental sustainability, the water and energy nexus and the effects of climate change on the region. Such topics as the need for stronger cooperation on transboundary waters, the challenges of migration driven by climate change and the importance of city-level cooperation were discussed. Among the specific proposals made during the Week was creating a Forum of Cities within SPECA.
The United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) was launched in 1998 to strengthen subregional cooperation in Central Asia and facilitate its integration into the world economy. The SPECA participating States are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. UNECE and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) jointly provide overall support and coordination to the program on the principle of annual rotation. Find out more here.
