Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

ADB Pledges Over $5b to New CAREC Strategy

ADB Pledges Over $5b to New CAREC Strategy

KABUL - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced more than $5 billion to support Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) 2030 strategy in the next 5 years.
ADB President Takehiko Nakao made the announcement at the 16th CAREC Ministerial Conference held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on Friday, according to a statement.
CAREC Ministers from 11 member countries unanimously endorsed CAREC 2030, a new long-term strategy that would take the CAREC program to its third decade of operations.
As part of ADB’s commitment, it has just approved a new $800 million Multi-Tranche Financing Facility for CAREC road corridor development in Pakistan. Next year, ADB would finance the first phase of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) transmission line project for $150 million.
ADB has already begun discussions for regional projects in the areas of agribusiness, tourism, and railways covered in CAREC 2030.
ADB functions as the secretariat of the CAREC program. Cumulatively, the CAREC program has mobilized more than $30 billion of investments since it was set up in 2001. Over a third of this amount, or $10.5 billion, has been financed by ADB, and the rest by member governments and other development partners.
To date, CAREC financing had been used to build or rehabilitate 8,592 kilometers (km) of road and more than 5,103 km of rail across 6 transport corridors, strengthening connectivity and trade within and outside the region.
Over 9,041 km of power transmission lines have been constructed, supporting the expansion of energy trade between energy surplus Central Asian countries and energy deficit countries in South Asia, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Besides investments through projects, CAREC has contributed to trade facilitation, and capacity building and knowledge generation and sharing across CAREC countries. The CAREC Institute which is spearheading knowledge efforts is now operating as an intergovernmental organization.
In a joint statement titled the “Dushanbe Declaration,” CAREC Ministers highlighted that regional cooperation has become even more critical to meet their development goals. Ministers stressed the need to engage with the private sector, civil society, development partners, and other stakeholders in regional projects; and strengthen linkages with other regional cooperation programs including the Belt and Road Initiative.
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, ADB is celebrating 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2016, ADB assistance totaled $31.7 billion, including $14 billion in co- financing.
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the People’s Republic of China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are the members of CAREC. (Pajhwok)