The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said eight member countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme will meet in Dushanbe in Tajikistan on 2-3 November to discuss ways to deepen interaction and integrate more effectively with world markets.

Ministers and officials from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan and representatives of CARECs six partner multilateral institutions, bilateral and other regional organisations will meet during the sixth ministerial conference, the ADB said.

The initiatives to be considered at the meeting include the CAREC Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy, which would support the development of six strategic transport corridors crisscrossing the region, thereby improving access of these economies to each other and to global markets, the bank said.

"These efforts will improve the flow of people and goods around the region and across borders, providing a firm foundation for sustained growth," said Craig Steffensen, head of ADB’s CAREC unit said.

The ADB stated the second initiative is the establishment of the CAREC Institute to enhance the capabilities of CAREC government officials to engage in regional cooperation processes and to plan and implement regional cooperation projects.

CAREC is an ADB-supported initiative to encourage economic cooperation in Central Asia.