BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 3
By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Turkmenistan agreed on the need to intensify efforts to deepen regional cooperation on the CAREC platform, Chang Ching Yu Country Director of ADB’s resident mission in Turkmenistan told Trend.
The sides also agreed to promote collaboration among the participating countries on the five pillars of the CAREC 2030 strategy, including economic and financial stability; trade, tourism and economic corridor development; infrastructure and connectivity; agriculture and water resources; and human capital development.
"Turkmenistan has been a member of the CAREC Program since 2010 and has seen investment worth more than $2.1 billion in areas of trade, transport, and energy. These three sectors are important for Turkmenistan’s economy as they are closely related to the export of key products such as minerals and natural resources, " he said.
He also noted that regional integration can improve efficiency in trading activities by reducing barriers and costs while also bringing in opportunities that can help diversify the economy—such as through promoting regional tourism development; strengthening of agricultural value chains; and developing human capital and skills base to respond to changing market demands in the region.
"CAREC is also involved in providing technical assistance on key issues such as digitalization, health, water, etc. which are part of CAREC’s operational clusters within the CAREC 2030 Strategy," he noted.
Earlier, ADB has invited Turkmenistan to become one of the participants of the high-level meeting within the framework of the CAREC program.
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