CAREC Officials Discuss Deeper Cooperation

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Senior officials of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program met in Manila this week to examine ways to deepen interaction among their economies and integrate more effectively with world markets.

Delegations from the eight participating countries and six multilateral institutions that comprise CAREC discussed recent developments and future plans in the program's priority areas of transport, energy, and trade; issues related to the establishment of a CAREC Institute; and preparations for the Sixth CAREC Ministerial Conference to be held in November 2007 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

"The CAREC Program is at an important stage in its development. With the Comprehensive Action Plan in place and sector strategies being developed, 2007 will be a critical year," said Mr. Xianbin Yao, Deputy Director General of ADB's Central and West Asia Department in opening remarks.

"The decisions we make this year will have long-lasting impacts on this program, and potentially on developments in participating countries."

The CAREC Program adopted a Comprehensive Action Plan (CAP) at its fifth ministerial meeting in October 2006. The CAP provides the strategic framework for the medium-term development of the program and includes some 40 projects worth about $2.3 billion.
CAREC is a pragmatic, results-oriented program that was established in 1997 and seeks to promote development through cooperation, leading to accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction.

CAREC participating countries are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. CAREC is also an alliance of multilateral institutions comprising ADB, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and World Bank. Turkmenistan participated in the meeting as an observer.