Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, participated in the
16th Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Ministerial
Conference in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on Friday.
During his address to the Conference, the Finance Minister
reiterated Pakistan’s strong commitment to the CAREC Program to improve
connectivity in the region. Highlighting the geo-strategic location of
Pakistan, the Minister emphasized Pakistan’s role as facilitator for
connecting the regions of South Asia and Central Asia, in order to enable
efficient market access, and enhance trade and investment in the region.
The Minister said that Pakistan supports CAREC’s areas of focus in the sectors
of energy, trade and transportation network. He also acknowledge the
assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in augmenting these
initiatives.
The Finance Minister endorsed the new CAREC Strategy 2030, on behalf of
the Government of Pakistan. He appreciated ADB’s leadership and efforts
for including the areas of cooperation offered by the Prime Minister of
Pakistan during the previous CAREC Ministerial Conference held in
Islamabad in October 2016. The Finance Minister also suggested further steps
in this regard. He emphasized the importance of collective efforts to
enhance regional cooperation and achieve the common goals envisaged under
the CAREC Program.
Earlier, the President of Tajikistan, Mr. Emomali Rahmon, inaugurated
the Ministerial Conference. In his address, he voiced his support for
regional cooperation and integration, and assured of all out support to
implement the
CAREC 2030 Strategy.
It may be noted that the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation
(CAREC) Program is a partnership of 11 countries and 6 multilateral
development partners working to promote development through cooperation,
leading to accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction. The Program
is aimed at helping Central Asian and neighbouring countries realize their
potential, by promoting and facilitating regional cooperation in the
priority areas of transport, trade facilitation, trade policy, and energy.
The 11 countries partnering in the CAREC Program are Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, People's Republic of China, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The 6
multilateral development
***
