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CAREC ministers approve development strategy till 2020.

Experts say the implementation of the new programme, which includes 27 energy projects, amounts to 50 billion U.S. dollars

BAKU, November 24 (Itar-Tass) — Ministers of the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Programme have approved a strategy on the development till 2020, Asian Development Bank President Haruhito Kuroda told journalists.

“All countries of the region supported the new 10-year strategy on the CAREC development. In the near 10 years regional cooperation will attach big significance in all Asia,” the ADB president said. In his view, the 2020 development strategy “is looking in the future and makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of regional cooperation. We face challenges, but we are here for a long time and we will do all for the sake of peoples living in the region”.

According to the ADB president, the document determines strategic tasks and priorities of the economic development of the countries. In his words, the member-states seek to transform transport corridors into economic ones and ensure reliable, secure and stable energy supplies, stimulate trade and ease cross-border movement of goods.

Experts say the implementation of the new programme, which includes 27 energy projects, amounts to 50 billion U.S. dollars.

Commenting on prospects for cooperation between the CAREC countries, Kuroda noted that by 2017 their trade relations tripled.

During the visit, the ADB president met with Azerbaijani leader Ilkham Aliyev and Finance Minister Samir Shafirov. The meeting focused on the ABD assistance to Azerbaijan to develop key sectors of the economy, including energy, transport and water supply service.

The CAREC Programme involves Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It is supported by six top financial institutions, including the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank.