CAREC Senior Officials' Meeting (April 2006)

The Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) on Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation was convened at Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China (PRC), on 10-11 April 2006.

Senior government representatives from the eight CAREC Member Countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the PRC, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan as well as representatives from six multilateral institutions: Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and World Bank, attended the Meeting.

The SOM participants

• reviewed the progress achieved in priority areas;
• discussed ways to accelerate the momentum of regional cooperation including plans for program expansion, completion of a comprehensive action plan, country ownership, and role of national coordinators; and
• assessed proposals to hold a CAREC Business Development Forum in 2006, conduct studies on transport and economic corridors, convene an avian influenza regional roundtable, and arrangements for the 5th Ministerial Conference to be held in Urumqi, PRC in October 2006.