Asian Development Bank to boost regional cooperation

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Thursday it has allocated US $952 million to supporting regional cooperation in Central Asia over the next three years. The Manila-based ADB said the package was part of an updated strategy for its Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme. The 2006-2008 CAREC programme will include 16 major projects worth $943 million and 13 technical assistance grants, totalling $9 million, the bank said. The projects would focus on transport, energy and trade “as cooperation in these areas will lead to better progress in poverty reduction,” said Adrian Ruthenberg, director for ADB's East and Central Asia operations coordination division. “[The] ADB and our partners working under the CAREC umbrella will step up efforts to mobilise the necessary resources and expertise to pick up the pace of regional cooperation in Central Asia,” he added in a statement. The CAREC programme is an alliance comprising eight Central Asian countries and six multilateral institutions that aims to promote economic growth and raise living standards by encouraging regional cooperation. The eight countries are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The multilateral institutions are the ADB, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Islamic Development Bank and the World Bank. “The programme aims to transform the region from one that is landlocked to one that is land-linked so that regional trade, transport and transit costs are not serious impediments to development, and participating countries can share vital resources, particularly energy and water, more efficiently,” Ruthenberg said. The transport projects planned for 2006-2008 include the rehabilitation of regional railways in Uzbekistan, improvement of the southern corridor in Azerbaijan and development of a western regional road corridor in Mongolia.