ADB allocates five billion dollars for CAREC strategy 2030

ISLAMABAD: Central Asia regional economic cooperation (CAREC) strategy 2030 was formally launched on Monday, jointly by government of Pakistan (GoP) and Asian development bank (ADB); an official statement said.

According to detail, Manila ADB director Safdar Parvez has informed that ADB has allocated five billion dollars to implement the CAREC strategy 2030.

The new Strategy was recently approved by the 16th CAREC ministerial conference held on 27th October in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

CAREC is an 11-member country regional platform that aims to connect people, policies and projects for shared and sustainable development.

Economic affairs division (EAD) secretary Arif Ahmed Khan appreciated the ADB for extending cooperation on preparation of well formulated strategy document. He assured Pakistan’s support to mobilize all possible resources for improving and developing regional connectivity as outlined in the new strategy.

EAD secretary said that the history of regional connectivity in the Central Asia region and the sub-continent since centuries is linked through the silk-routes.  

ADB country director Xiaohong Yang asserted that ADB will continue to support the CAREC agenda; she said that CAREC can contribute to long term economic and political stability creating a peace dividend. 

National focal person for CAREC in Pakistan Syed Mujtaba Hussain encouraged all government agencies to submit practical and viable project proposals from their respective areas.  

Foreign affairs special secretary, high level representatives from state bank of Pakistan (SBP), securities and exchange commission of Pakistan (SECP), federal board of revenue (FBR), railway, water resources, climate change, commerce, communications, national food security ministries’ officials, and others attended the workshop and gave inputs to the way forward on implementation of the new strategy.