Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Nov. 16
By Huseyn Hasanov– Trend:
An integrated trade program for the period until 2030 was adopted during the 17th Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Ministerial Conference in Ashgabat, a source close to the event's organization told Trend.
The conference was attended by Ministers of Investment and Economy of the CAREC countries, heads of a number of international organizations, such as ADB, ECO, EBRD, IMF, IsDB, UNDP, World Bank, WTO.
Takehiko Nakao, head of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), said that the program will help countries expand trade through more open trade policies, removal of barriers and simplified procedures. He said the document is intended to strengthen economic diversification, including trade in services and e-commerce.
CAREC, initiated by ADB, brings together 11 countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). Since 2001, as part CAREC, more than $31.5 billion of investment has been mobilized to develop a multimodal transport route in the region, addressing issues of energy trade, security and others.