BANGKOK, Thailand -

On 27-28 November, Ambassador Miroslav Jenča, SRSG and Head of UNRCCA, took part in the 2012 Economic Forum of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) entitled "Strengthening Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Central Asia by Sharing the Asian Experience" organized jointly by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Bangkok.

Senior representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan as well as the UN and other organizations discussed challenges related to regional cooperation and ways to address them.

On 26 November, UNRCCA participated in a side event of the SPECA Economic Forum dedicated particularly to Afghanistan and regional economic cooperation. In the course of the meetings, progress, challenges and perspectives of regional cooperation in the wider region were discussed. The importance of regional economic cooperation for peace and security in the region was stressed, together with the role of the UNRCCA in this sphere.