[Index]
Geneva, 14 June 2002
Business Advisory Council of SPECA is launched
Strengthening economic ties among the Central Asian States and their economic
integration with Europe and Asia would contribute to their transition to a
market economy. International cooperation would also contribute to accelerating
economic development of all the States of Central Asia. To achieve these goals,
the Central Asian countries with the support of the United Nations, have established
the United Nations Special Programme
for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA). Since its inception in 1998,
the Programme has moved towards the above-mentioned goals. Yet, to be a success,
SPECA must be supported by the business community.
In February 2002, the supreme body of SPECA - its Regional Advisory Committee
(RAC) - adopted the Terms of Reference of the Business Advisory Council (BAC)
of SPECA and appointed Mr. Raimbek Batalov, President of the Raimbek Group
Co. Ltd. (Kazakhstan), to be the Chairman of the Council. When fully operational,
the Council will bring together authoritative business personalities from
SPECA participating States and from their major trade and economic partners.
The Council will work to strengthen the involvement in SPECA of the private
sector by creating conditions that favour private business. The Council will
attract to the region foreign companies and capital, and will also promote
regional goods and services on the world market.
The first session of the Council took place on 7 June 2002 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
In addition to business people from the participating countries of SPECA,
representatives of Afghanistan, the Islamic Development Bank and the Asian
Development Bank and of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE) took part in the session. The session looked into the ideas on the
Concept of the BAC and of the Programme of work for 2002-2003. In addition,
there was a presentation on the ways businesses in the region could cooperate
with international organizations in the UN system.
The official representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan
reconfirmed his country's support to the process of SPECA and called the launching
of the Business Advisory Council as an important new step in the development
of the Programme. He also reiterated the request of the Regional Advisory
Committee of SPECA to adopt a system of UN measures to strengthen the processes
of economic development and cooperation in the region on the basis of the
SPECA Programme. The core element of the system could be the creation, on
the basis of SPECA, of a UN Special Coordinator post for issues of stability
and development in Central Asia. In view of SPECA countries, the existing
organizational mechanisms of the Programme could provide the basis for the
UN Special Coordinator's work. The main activity of the Coordinator could
be attracting additional resources and ensuring the highest possible compatibility
and complementarity of international investment projects in Central Asia.
At the request of the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. N. Tanayev,
the current Chairman of the Regional Consultative Committee of SPECA, the
Director of the Purchase and Transportation Section of the UN Office in Geneva
made a presentation on the ways and means of private business participation
in the purchase and transportation activities of international organizations.
This is the first presentation on the subject in Central Asia. The total volume
of activities of the system of purchase and transportation for the needs of
all the organizations of the UN system exceeds $1 billion a year. Up to now,
the major suppliers have been the companies from developed market economies.
The participants were eager to get information on the procedures to follow
in order to participate, on commercial terms, in international activities
for the reconstruction of Afghanistan and in the oil-for-food programme for
Iraq.
The second session of the BAC will take place from 5-6 December 2002 in Almaty,
Kazakhstan.
For additional information on the first session of the Business Advisory
Council of SPECA please contact:
Mr. Peter Tsyba
Regional Adviser
Focal Point on SPECA
UNECE Coordinating Unit for Operational Activities
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel.: +41(0) 22 917 58 26
Fax: +41(0) 22 917 07 26
e-mail: [email protected]
Ref: ECE/OPA/02/10