DUSHANBE, June 22, 2009, Asia-Plus — Researchers from Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will gather in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek this week for a workshop to kick-off the 2009 Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Institute”s Small Research Grants Program (SRGP), according to the ADB Resident Mission in Tajikistan.
The SRGP encourages local researchers and institutes to advance regional cooperation among CAREC countries in the priority areas of transport, energy and trade, and to support interaction among researchers and development of research networks in CAREC countries.
The SRGP finances one research project in each participating CAREC country through a competitive selection process. The maximum amount of each research grant is $25,000.
In Tajikistan, the 2009 research grant was awarded to a group of researchers headed by economist Dr. Abdushukur Nazarov. Dr. Nazarov”s research project aims to define a strategy for trade and-economic cooperation between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The CAREC Institute was established as a virtual institute supported by the CAREC Secretariat and CAREC’s six partner multilateral institutions – Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and World Bank. The CAREC Institute prospectus was endorsed at the CAREC Sixth Ministerial Conference in November 2007 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
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 2008, it approved $10.5 billion of loans, $811.4 million of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $274.5 million.
