DUSHANBE, October 6, 2008, Asia-Plus — Senior officials from eight member countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program discussed ways to deepen and accelerate regional cooperation and integration in a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan in late September 2008, press release issue by the ADB (Asian Development Bank) Dushanbe Office on October 6 said.
The meeting brought together senior officials from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; as well as representatives of CAREC’s six partner multilateral institutions – ADB, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations Development Program, and World Bank.
The Tajikistan delegation was headed by Nematjon Bouriyev, Senior Adviser to the President on Economic Policy and CAREC National Focal Point for Tajikistan. Deputy ministers from the ministries of economic development and trade, energy, transport and communications, and a senior official from the customs service also attended the meeting.
“ADB greatly appreciates Tajikistan”s active participation in and strong support for the CAREC Program,’ said Makoto Ojiro, ADB’s Country Director for Tajikistan.
The meeting reviewed and endorsed drafts of key documents for consideration by the 7th CAREC Ministerial Conference in November 2008, namely: Implementation Action Plan for the CAREC Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy; CAREC Trade Policy Strategic Action Plan; and draft CAREC Institute Work Plan for 2009-2011. The meeting also agreed to highlight private sector development as an important theme of the CAREC program.
“We feel the recent meeting was productive and made good progress toward the 7th CAREC Ministerial Conference in November this year,” noted Nematjon Bouriyev, Senior Adviser to the President on Economic Policy. “But there is a need to work closer and move faster to implement the agreed strategies and work plans.”
CAREC is an ADB-supported initiative to encourage economic cooperation in Central Asia. Initiated in 1997, the program to date has focused on regional initiatives in transport, trade facilitation, trade policy, and energy critical to improving the economic performance of the region and the livelihoods of all people, especially of the poor.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2007, it approved $10.1 billion of loans, $673 million of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $243 million.
