BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 24. The economic forum, held on the sidelines of the SPECA Week in Baku, will contribute to fostering business ties between our countries, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the Summit of the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), TurkicWorld reports.

"We welcome the recent adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution on the 25th anniversary of SPECA. We consider establishing the SPECA Trust Fund under the auspices of the UN as a commendable step. I am pleased to announce that Azerbaijan will allocate 3.5 million US dollars to the Trust Fund. The exhibition in the Baku Expo Center vividly portrays the development in our countries.

Azerbaijan and the countries of Central Asia are bound by centuries-long historical and cultural ties. Azerbaijan and Central Asia represent a single historical, cultural and geopolitical space, with increasing strategic significance. This September, I was invited for the first time to the Summit of the Heads of Central Asian States in Dushanbe, as the guest of honor. Once again, I express my gratitude for the invitation. I consider today’s Summit as a logical follow-up to the Dushanbe meeting," the President of Azerbaijan underlined.