ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Dec. 26
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The volume of trade between Turkmenistan and the countries of the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) is increasing every year, Trend reports referring to the Turkmenistan State News Agency.
The biggest share of trade accounts for Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Thus, the volume of trade amounted to $886 million in 2016 and $982 million in 2017. In 2018, the trade growth amounted to 13.3 percent, reaching $1.1 billion, the report said.
From January through September 2019, this volume already exceeded $1 billion.
SPECA was established in 1998 in accordance with the Tashkent Declaration signed by presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as executive secretaries of UNECE and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Later, the SPECA was joined by Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan.
During the SPECA sessions, issues related to improving communication opportunities in the region, including between Afghanistan and the countries of Central Asia, are regularly discussed.