Sonna Schrest, an economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) stated to a workshop in Baku on 28 September 2006 that the ADB supports the regional cooperation in the Central Asia. In July 2006 the ADB allocated 14 loans worth $557.1m under 9 projects of CAREC (Central-
Asian Economic Cooperation) on automobile routes, electricity lines and upgrade customs services, The ADB also co-financed by 5 projects with the budget of $162m and rendered technical assistance in the volume of $27m.
Schrest noted that in 2006-2008 the ADB pans to support 18 investment projects in the amount of $17.9m.
CAREC program unites 8 member-countries: Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The program is imeplemneted with support from the ADB, the EBRD, IMF, IBD, UNDP and WB.