DUSHANBE, September 28, 2015, Asia-Plus – Tajik delegation, led by Minister of Transport Sherali Ganjalzoda, attended the 14th Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Ministerial Conference that took place in Ulan Bator, Mongolia on September 25.
The delegation members included senior officials from the President’s Executive Office, State Committee on Investments and State-owned Property Management, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, and Ministry of Energy and Water Resources.
According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Tajikistan Resident Mission (TJRM), CAREC Ministers exchanged views on the developments affecting the economic performance of the group’s 10 member states, which in addition to Tajikistan includes Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Speaking at the Ministerial Conference, ADB President Takehiko Nakao noted that in the current difficult global economic environment, CAREC countries should further strengthen regional cooperation and integration efforts. “Enhancing the subregion’s connectivity, promoting trade and investment across borders, and improving access to external markets will help improve the prospects of the subregion as a whole,” he said.
ADB functions as the Secretariat of the CAREC Program, which promotes regional cooperation in transport, energy, trade facilitation, trade policy, and other key sectors of mutual interest. Cumulatively, the CAREC Program has mobilized $28.3 billion of investments since it was set up in 2001, of which ADB accounts for more than $10 billion. In its project lineup for this year, ADB is planning to invest almost $1 billion to improve CAREC road corridors and enhance border services among CAREC countries. To provide knowledge support to implementing action plans in the four priority areas, ADB is supporting the CAREC Institute, which launched its physical base in March 2015 in Urumqi, PRC.
Besides conducting regional projects, Mr. Nakao noted, ADB has provided or is planning substantial assistance to help individual countries adjust to new economic circumstances and institute policy reforms. Most notably a $1 billion loan to Kazakhstan through the counter-cyclical support facility was approved in August and a $150 million loan for social welfare support program in Mongolia is being prepared for approval in the near future.
In a joint statement, CAREC Ministers noted progress made in the four priority sectors. On transport and energy, they commended investment projects in road and railway construction to develop transport corridors as well as new support for clean energy and energy efficiency technologies. In trade facilitation there has been progress on linking customs cooperation with transport infrastructure. On trade policy, they noted to date, five CAREC countries have acceded to WTO, with Kazakhstan expected to accede by end of this year.
Ministers welcomed an initiative to strengthen cooperation in sanitary and phytosanitary measures to complement customs reforms. They also resolved to take collective action to boost road safety in their countries through better road and vehicle design, enforcement of traffic laws, and accident and emergency facilities.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2014, ADB assistance totaled $22.9 billion, including cofinancing of $9.2 billion.
