President Emomali Rahmon participated in a summit of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan on November 24. 

The Tajik president’s official website says that speaking at the meeting, Emomali Rahmon said that Tajikistan attaches significant importance to the expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation within the framework of SPECA.

In this regard, it was noted that approximately 30 percent of the foreign trade turnover of Tajikistan falls on SPECA member nations.

Most of the SPECA participating countries have reportedly taken a leading position among the trade and economic partners of the country, and the turnover of Tajikistan's foreign trade with the SPECA countries increased by 24 percent last year.

It was noted that SPECA member countries have great labor and natural resources and wide energy, transport and communication opportunities.

Rahmon reportedly welcomed the establishment of the SPECA Trust Fund and suggested that in the coming years, attention should be paid to such priority areas as simplification of trade procedures and removal of artificial barriers, expansion of multi-modal transport and economic corridors, development of green economy and digitization.

In this regard, Tajikistan supports the establishment of the SPECA Secretariat, Tajik leader said.

It was mentioned that in recent years, a number of significant reforms have been implemented in Tajikistan to simplify trade procedures.

Today, half a million users from more than 100 countries of the world are reportedly registered on the Trade Portal of Tajikistan, which once again confirms its importance.

Emomali Rahmon emphasized that Tajikistan has ensured good achievements in the field of green energy and green economy in general.

Currently, 98 percent of the country's electricity is generated by hydropower plants, and Tajikistan ranks sixth in the world in terms of green energy, according to the Tajik president’s official website.

Within the framework of the Green Economy Development Strategy designed for 2023-2037, Tajikistan intends to increase the capacity of green energy to 10,000 megawatts.

In view of this, Rahmon suggested that SPECA should pay special attention to the development of green energy in order to ensure economic development, regional integration, prevention of adverse effects of climate change on sectors of the national economy and adaptation to climate change.

The president of Tajikistan informed of the decision of the Government on the chairmanship of Tajikistan in SPECA in 2024.  Within the framework of the Concept of the Presidency of Tajikistan and its implementation plan, priorities are directed to strengthening the existing results and ensuring new achievements.