BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 24. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has proposed to adopt a strategy of "green" development within SPECA, Trend reports.
He spoke at the summit of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) in Baku.
"Given the interconnectedness of the water, energy, ecology and agriculture spheres, it is time to adopt a comprehensive new conceptual document of SPECA - a multilateral Green Strategy," he said.
Mirziyoyev noted that it is impossible to solve such acute and increasingly aggravating problems without cooperation, relying on one's own strength.
"According to the United Nations analysis, the states of our region lose about $2 billion annually due to water deficit. In the future, if this negative process intensifies and there is no comprehensive solution to the problems, the indicator of water availability per capita may decrease by 25 percent and crop yields by 40 percent," he said.
Baku is hosting a summit dedicated to the 25th anniversary of SPECA.
The UN SPECA program was established on March 26, 1998. At present, the SPECA member states are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. SPECA provides a platform for sub-regional cooperation to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that can best be achieved through regional cooperation.
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