Baku hosts SPECA Economic Forum focusing on energy dividend
UNDP Representative stresses the need to invest into human capital

Baku, 25-26 June 2006 - The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), in cooperation with the Azerbaijan Government, organized the first Economic Forum of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) in Baku. The theme of the Forum which provides for interaction among major stake-holders -- government, academia and business was "The Energy Dividend: spreading the growth impulse for prosperity and stability in the SPECA region". Not only the SPECA countries but also representatives of international organizations and development community like UNDP, UNDESA, UNCTAD, ADB, WB, IMF, EU, EurAsEC and others participated in the work of the Forum.

During the two days the Forum discussed the ways of strengthening the regional economic cooperation through sharing the energy dividend in the SPECA region which includes the five Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) and Azerbaijan and Afghanistan.

Chairing the opening session of the Forum, Minister of Economic Development of Azerbaijan Mr. Heydar Babayev expressed the hope that "cooperation resulting from these discussions would facilitate the implementation of national development strategies, help the SPECA countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and to integrate into the world economy." He announced Azerbaijan's special interest in close cooperation with SPECA in the field of Information and Communication Technologies and accession to WTO.

Addressing the Forum with an opening statement, Mr. Kim Hak-Su, UN Under-Secretary General and the Executive Secretary of UNESCAP noted that "recent global trends in energy and its trade enhance the possibilities of this region achieving MDGs provided that prosperity is shared and sustainable".

Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Mr. Supachai Panitchpakdi in his keynote address to the Forum stressed the importance of investing in transport and energy infrastructure, improved water and more effective health and educational systems as MDG priorities for the region.

In several sessions the Forum participants discussed such issues as investing energy dividend for energy infrastructure, establishment of coordinated energy system, trade and transport development in the SPECA region. The speakers noted that with the right infrastructure in place, SPECA countries could trade oil, gas and even electricity within the sub-region and outside, not only Europe but also China and other North Asian countries.

Stressing the importance of making the economic growth experienced by the region sustainable, UNDP Resident Representative in Azerbaijan Mr. Marco Borsotti said that it was important to "convert black gold (oil revenues) into human gold (human development)". This concept, which is also the motto of UNDP Azerbaijan, envisages the development of human capital through investing into education and building the knowledge of the population. Meanwhile, another important factor for a country to get rich and remain rich was the presence of the enabling environment for investment. ""Development of infrastructure alone will not create the key element for development - investors' confidence. What is needed is a place for investment where the investors are sure of safety of their investments".

The Forum in its conclusions and recommendations, among other things, emphasized the need to develop non-oil sector and make sure that economic growth contributes to poverty reduction in the SPECA region. It also recommended that WTO, UNECE, UNESCAP and UNCTAD extend technical assistance programmes to the SPECA countries, promote and help them accede to WTO.