On March 13, Mr Safdar Parvez, Director of the Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division of the Central and West Asia Department of Asian Development Bank visited CAREC. The parties discussed the potential cooperation opportunities between the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia and Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program, whose abbreviations in English sound the same – CAREC.
Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program is a partnership of 11 countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), supported by 6 multilateral institutions, working together to promote development through cooperation, leading to accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction.
In the meeting, the parties touched upon existing partnership opportunities in Central Asia on water and energy matters. Mr Safdar Parvez mentioned that the vision of the Program had been changed. If it previously focused more on the regional cooperation from infrastructure development perspective (transport connectivity, trade and economic corridors, urban development, agricultural and natural resource management), now in light of the program’s new long-term strategy CAREC 2030 it is shifting towards people’s perspective (human development, education, capacity building). And this new direction gives more alignment for partnership with the environmental centre.
Highlighting the environmental centre’s dialogue platforms designed for strengthening cooperation, CAREC Executive Director Dr Iskandar Abdullaev expressed readiness to join the efforts for better environment through the five thematic programs of the centre. In this regard, both parties exchanged thoughts for cooperation on SDG implementation in the region and conducting scoping studies on development partners in Central Asia. Mr Parvez, in his turn, proposed to consider cooperation opportunity through the ADB-supported Institute, based in Urumqi, China, to undertake capacity building and knowledge work for regional cooperation.
ADB plans to hold a forum in late July 2018 in Bishkek on identification and possible establishment of a network of think tanks working on environmental issues in the CA region. In this context, CAREC could work together with the institute in Urumqi. This perhaps may be the point of departure for collaborative environmental activities of the two CARECs in the future.