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$21 billion to be invested in regional transport corridors as part of ADB CAREC Programme

21 November 2008 17:04 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev - APA-Economics. A press conference was held on the seventh Ministerial Conference on Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) of the Asian Development Bank in Baku.
Samir Veliyev, Officer of Azerbaijanâ€™s Ministry of Economic Development, said Azerbaijan has been a member of the CAREC since 2001 and hosted a regional conference this year.
ADBâ€™s Vice-President Xiaoyu Zhao added that the eight member countries were attending the conference in Baku.
According to him, several strategic documents on transport, trade and energy were signed at the conference.
He noted that it was planned to invest $21 billion in the regional transport corridors as part of the CAREC Programme.
â€œThe development of these corridors is important from the standpoint of improving the social positions of the population and bridging Asia and Europe,â€ he noted.
ADBâ€™s Sean O’Sallivan added that the global financial crisis might affect the implementation of the programme.
â€œTherefore, the unity of the participating countries is very necessary,â€ he noted.
CAREC is an allegiance of eight countries â€“ Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Peopleâ€™s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan â€“ with the common goal of promoting economic cooperation and development in Central Asia.
CAREC nations partner with six multilateral institutions â€“ the Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank â€“ who combine their assistance in the priority areas of transport, energy and trade.
The Asian Development Bank is a multilateral development bank, owned by 67 member countries. ADBâ€™s main instruments for developing its member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants and technical assistance.