Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend I.Khalilova / Eight countries on 3 November at the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program agreed to a common vision of the region for future years. It included the objective that by 2018 all countries will be members of the World Trade Organization, a source stated at the ADB Baku Office.
"Our shared objectives are to significantly increase official trade among CAREC countries as well as with non-CAREC countries and to facilitate and improve the quality of transit trade so as to better integrate with global markets and foreign investors," the statement says.
The vision also says that by 2018, governments aim to "fulfill Central Asia's potential as an energy hub" to ensure no community is without reliable and affordable electricity. "We envision greatly increased cooperation among CAREC countries, drawing on the vast petroleum, natural gas, coal, hydropower, and other energy resources of the region," it says.
It says that by 2018, CAREC countries will be cooperating extensively to deal with regional challenges, such as environmental problems, infectious diseases like bird flu or HIV/AIDS, and disaster management and preparedness.
The eight countries attending the Dushanbe conference were joined by senior representatives of an alliance of multilateral institutions that also participate in CAREC, namely, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and the World Bank - in addition to ADB.
Ministers at the meeting also endorsed a plan to establish the CAREC Institute, which intends to act as a focal point for policy discussion to further the process of regional cooperation and integration in Central Asia. It will also help CAREC government officials better engage in regional cooperation processes and to plan and implement regional cooperation projects.
CAREC was launched in 1997.