URUMQI (TCA) — Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao on September 7 participated in the inaugural ceremony of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Institute, together with more than 100 participants from CAREC member countries and development partner organizations. In his speech, Mr. Nakao expressed confidence in the important role the new intergovernmental organization would play in the development of the CAREC program, as regional cooperation efforts among member countries enter a new phase, ADB said in a news release.
“I would like to extend my congratulations to the CAREC Institute for its successful transition to an intergovernmental organization,” said Mr. Nakao. “ADB is pleased to continue supporting the Institute in becoming a center of research, knowledge, and capacity building in the CAREC region.”
The CAREC Institute was originally developed as a “virtual entity” in 2006 to support regional cooperation in infrastructure development, trade and economic corridors, and agricultural and natural resource management. Following the decision of the 13th CAREC Ministerial Conference in 2014, the Institute’s physical base was established in Urumqi in China’s Xinjiang province. Since, the CAREC member countries have been working on an agreement to give the Institute a legal framework. The September 7 ceremony marked the Institute’s official transition to an intergovernmental research organization following the signing and ratification of the agreement by more than three countries, including the host country. So far China, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan have completed the signing and ratification.
Initiated by a technical assistance project in 1996, CAREC today is a partnership of 11 countries and six multilateral development partners.
The 11 members of CAREC are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The six multilateral institutions are ADB, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and International Monetary Fund.
As of the end of 2016, almost $30 billion in CAREC-related investments have been made in the four priority areas of transport, energy, trade facilitation, and trade policy. ADB has provided $10.4 billion, with the remaining coming from governments and development partners.
