BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 3
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
The CAREC Gender Strategy will be implemented with guidance from the Regional Gender Expert Group (RGEG), a representative of Asian Development Bank (ADB) told Trend.
The official said that this group will be comprised of representatives from all CAREC member countries and interested development partners. It will provide expert inputs for mainstreaming gender into national and regional policies, and into CAREC's operational clusters.
"ADB will begin implementation of the strategy by setting up the RGEG, via a Knowledge and Support Technical Assistance Project, in 2021. The Gender Strategy also includes a list of strategic entry points which the RGEG will consider while prioritizing implementation of projects," the ADB official said.
The strategy will be measured and evaluated for impact using the CAREC Program Results Framework. The Framework includes three year markers to track the attainment of key indicators that will inform ADB and CAREC member countries of the strategies' implementation performance.
- The seven priority cluster groups are:
(1) Caspian, covering Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan;
(2) Heart of Central Asia, covering Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan;
(3) Almaty–Bishkek, referring to the area of the Almaty–Bishkek Economic Corridor and the Tian Shan mountains, covering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, and North Xinjiang in PRC;
(4) Golden coast, located in the southwest of Pakistan;
(5) Karakorum–Wakhan, covering the Eastern part of Afghanistan, Southeast Tajikistan, North Pakistan, and Northwest Xinjiang;
(6) Altai, covering Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and PRC;
(7) Gobi and Grasslands, covering Mongolia and Inner Mongolia.
- There are 5 main CAREC clusters: Economic and Financial Stability Cluster; Trade, Tourism, and Economic Corridors Cluster; Infrastructure and Economic Connectivity Cluster; Agriculture and Water Cluster; Human Development Cluster. ICT and Gender are cross cutting priorities.
The Gender Strategy's mission is to attain "Equality and empowerment of women and girls in all CAREC operations for inclusive, shared, and sustainable development". The strategy's implementation is not designed with a strict approach and will be decided by the Regional Gender Expert Group (RGEG) after taking into account the different situations and capacities of countries to adopt gender measures.
The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program is a partnership of 11 countries and development partners working together to promote development through cooperation, leading to accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction. It is guided by the overarching vision of "Good Neighbors, Good Partners, and Good Prospects.
The member countries are Afghanistan; Azerbaijan; China; Georgia; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Mongolia; Pakistan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan.
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