Members of Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament (Majlisi Oli) have unanimously endorsed the law on ratification of an agreement on establishment of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Institute that was signed in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, in 2014.
A regular sitting of the Majlisi Namoyandagon, presided over by its head, Shukurjon Zuhurov, took place on February 21.
Presenting the bill to lawmakers, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Nematullo Hikamtullozoda, noted that the agreement was aimed at expansion of economic cooperation between CAREC member nations.
The agreement now has eleven signatories including Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation, or CAREC, Program is a partnership of 11 countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), supported by 6 multilateral institutions, working together to promote development through cooperation, leading to accelerated growth and poverty reduction.
The Program's long-term vision is Good Neighbors, Good Partners, and Good Prospects.
With the rapid economic expansion of China and Japan to the east, the Russian Federation to the north, and India and Pakistan to the south, there is unprecedented opportunity for CAREC countries to emerge as a center of trade and commerce, achieve higher levels of economic growth, and reduce poverty.
CAREC helps Central Asia and its neighbors realize their significant potential by promoting regional cooperation in four priority areas: Transport; Trade Facilitation; Energy, and Trade Policy.
CAREC Institute (CI) is an intergovernmental organization contributing to the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program through knowledge generation and capacity building. The Fifth Ministerial Conference held in 2006 endorsed the establishment of CI. CI became operational in 2009 and functioned as a virtual institute until 2015. The physical base of CI was inaugurated in March 2015 in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China.
CI has the following functions: conduct strategic research by mobilizing and partnering with world-class intellectual resources to enhance regional cooperation capacity and accelerated growth in the CAREC region; promote the effectiveness of scientific research in CAREC and among the CI Member Countries through joint or collaborative projects and wide dissemination of research findings and results; develop a network of research institutions in the CAREC region to serve as a resource base for strategic research and knowledge sharing, comprising among others, of universities, think tanks, and development institutions; enhance the capabilities of government officials in CAREC and the CI Member Countries to engage in regional cooperation processes, improve their capacities to plan and implement regional cooperation projects, and build their capacities for informed policy analysis; provide innovative solutions based on the sharing of good practices to enable CAREC and the CI Member Countries to respond to regional challenges and cooperative processes; align its programs with the strategic goals of CAREC; and report on its past and proposed programs to CAREC at each annual meeting of the CAREC Ministerial Conference.
