CAREC senior officials meet to finalize new strategic framework
Further boosting regional cooperation in Central Asia
On 7-8 June 2011, senior officials from the 10 member countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program met in Baku, Azerbaijan to finalize a new 10-year strategic framework that will further develop regional cooperation in transport, trade, and energy.
The Senior Officials’ Meeting recognized the program’s achievements since its formal establishment in 2001 and senior officials put finishing touches to a new strategic framework—aptly called CAREC 2020—that will guide the program for the next 10 years. CAREC 2020 will include a 5-year plan of priority regional investments in transport, trade facilitation, and energy. It will be formally adopted in November 2011 when ministers of CAREC countries gather again in Baku for their 10th Ministerial Conference.
“This year is special as it marks the first decade of CAREC’s existence. It is a time to look back, celebrate, reflect, and—very importantly—to also look to the opportunities ahead,” said Juan Miranda, Director General of ADB’s Central and West Asia Department. “The CAREC countries are closer now than they have ever been, and CAREC 2020 will speed the process by which Central Asia reassumes its position as a pivotal crossroad for international trade and commerce.”
At the meeting, senior officials also discussed a proposed pilot study on developing cities and towns along CAREC corridors. This analytical project is in line with the recommendation under CAREC 2020 to conduct studies on the transformation of CAREC transport corridors into economic corridors.
Progress and initiatives in transport, trade facilitation, trade policy, and energy since the 9th Ministerial Conference in November 2010 were also shared with the senior officials. To date, CAREC boasts more than $15 billion in CAREC-related investments in these sectors, which have built and upgraded some 3,600 kilometers of roads; almost 2,000 kilometers of railway track; and ports and priority border crossings. Investment has also improved energy security, efficiency, and distribution throughout the region.
The CAREC 2010 Development Effectiveness Review was presented and discussed. This review measures the performance of the overall CAREC Program during 2010 against baseline data and proposes specific actions to increase effective implementation of the Program. And lastly, senior officials and other delegates reviewed the draft program for the 10th Ministerial Conference.
This mid-year’s meeting was represented by senior officials of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan; as well as representatives of the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and the World Bank. The meeting was hosted by the Government of Azerbaijan.