Nine countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme have signed a historic declaration today that will accelerate cooperation on energy issues and make the creation of a regional energy market easier.
The 10-point declaration was signed by Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in Tashkent, the latter’s capital.
The declaration aims to make the regional energy market more liberal and attract more private investments; the declaration contains a strong commitment to renewable energy and clean technologies.
The region cannot achieve the level of investment needed without large private investments,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Werner Liepach.
Today, [energy leaders] have strengthened their commitment to work together to deliver an electricity supply for the region that is reliable and affordable, develop modern energy markets, and embrace clean energy as a more efficient, sustainable source of power”, said Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice-President for Private Sector Operations and Public–Private Partnerships Diwakar Gupta.
The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme is a partnership of 11 countries which are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the People's Republic of China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The CAREC programme was established by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and aims to encourage economic cooperation, accelerate economic growth and reduce poverty in the Central Asian region.
Since 2001, the CAREC Program has financed 196 regional projects worth $34.5 billion in the areas of transport, energy, and trade.
Source - Agenda.ge
