Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – Tashkent hosted a meeting of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation.

The meeting included the leadership of the CAREC Institute, five prominent experts from Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, as well as special guests from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Nazarbayev University of Kazakhstan, Asia - Pacific Development Institute of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), European Institute for Asian Studies of Belgium, and Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (TIIIMKH) of Uzbekistan.

The CAREC Institute is an intergovernmental organization, established in 2006 at the 5th Ministerial Conference of the CAREC and dedicated to building and sharing knowledge to promote economic cooperation in Central Asia and on the Great Silk Road. The CAREC Institute is shared, owned and operated by eleven member countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, PRC, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The headquarters of the Institute is located in the city of Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The meeting in Tashkent discussed the issue of the feasibility of early and large-scale investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation, which is considered as the most effective way to reduce future costs in the public interest. The advisory board serves the CAREC Institute as an adviser and source of new ideas to improve its strategies and approaches.

“Considering that climate change is a cross-cutting issue affecting many sectors: energy, water, agriculture, and others, the Advisory Council recommended that the CAREC Institute use its comparative advantages, connect with the plans of member countries and try to coordinate research data and information across the region, - noted the director of the CAREC Institute, Bayaraa Sanjaasuren. “This will allow high-level analysis of areas in which the “One Belt and One Road” initiative intersects with CAREC priorities to include the climate change component in all relevant projects. It will also provide an opportunity to analyze the regulatory framework of countries to determine political themes and link the costs of climate change with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ”

The issue of raising awareness on climate change was considered as another potential area of interaction for the CAREC Institute. Thus, the Institute has been recommended to support member countries in developing evidence-based projects in order to gain access to climate finance.

Also at the meeting, the Consultative Council recommended that the CAREC Institute focus on issues of regional importance, areas that go beyond national action and require regional cooperation, namely renewable energy sources, low-carbon transport, river basins, etc. in order to establish a dialogue between the parties concerned.

“This year, Uzbekistan is the chairing country of the CAREC-2019 program,” said Iskandar Abdullayev, Deputy Director (DD2) of the CAREC Institute. - And this is very important. Firstly, significant reforms are taking place in the country, and secondly, Uzbekistan has set a goal: integration in the region. CAREC is a very good platform for integration. It has all the elements: economy, finance, infrastructure, tourism, and so on. Our institute provides integration from a scientific point of view. Uzbekistan now demonstrates the dynamics of development. And, as is known, the main condition for development is the existence of cooperation between countries, in particular, regional cooperation. An isolated country will not achieve anything. We need markets, rules, organized infrastructure. Our institute helps this process, that is, it scientifically substantiates how to build a mechanism for adopting the necessary law, how to carry out cooperation, subjects of an agreement between the countries of one region. ”

Iskandar Abdullaev also noted that the word is now becoming an important element of cooperation, which is why it is important to establish cooperation with the media. On the day of the meeting, the leadership of the CAREC Institute, namely, the director of the CAREC Institute, Bayaraa Sanjaasuren, and his deputy, Iskandar Abdullayev, separately met with representatives of the media sector of Uzbekistan to develop interaction.

The CAREC Institute serves as a link between the five CAREC clusters:

Economic and financial stability;

Trade, tourism and economic corridors;

Infrastructure and economic connectivity;

Agriculture and water resources;

Human development.

The Institute ensures consistency in the design and implementation of policies, programs and projects to promote regional economic cooperation and integration.

In 2019, the CAREC Institute celebrates the fourth year of building its physical base in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and providing practical support to CAREC member countries through research, knowledge services and knowledge management. The institute focuses on developing a culture of trust and knowledge sharing among CAREC member countries and harmonizing various levels of cooperation between partners and governments as part of an integrated approach to regional economic development.