Within the framework of the CAREC Program, a meeting of senior officials between the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the CAREC Institute, and the member states of the program was held. Representatives of the Economic Scientific Research Institute (ESRI) – Elnur Alakbarov, acting head of the Department of Macroeconomic Research, Natig Madatov, senior research fellow of the Department of Economic Modeling and Analytical Analysis, and Shukur Guliyev, chief specialist of the Department of Macroeconomic Research, took part in the videoconference.
The meeting of senior officials is the operational level mechanism of CAREC. It monitors progress at cluster and sector levels and has the authority to review and approve complex multi-country and multi-sectoral projects. Also, such meetings serve as a mechanism to ensure the effective implementation of policy and strategic decisions adopted by the CAREC Ministerial Conference.
Mr. Jin Lu, the National Program Coordinator of the People's Republic of China (PRC) chaired the meeting and delivered his opening remarks. The meeting consisted of 3 sessions in total. During the first session, the CAREC secretariat presented the CAREC post-pandemic framework for green, sustainable and inclusive recovery, the framework for agricultural development and food security in the CAREC region, the CAREC Green Energy Union framework and the framework for combating climate change, and then the positions of the member countries were studied. Thus, according to the regulations, the head of the Department of Cooperation with International Organizations of the Ministry of Economy Inara Mustafayeva from Azerbaijan was offered to speak first. Later, the representatives of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan also spoke in the respective order. The officials who spoke at the meeting highly assessed the prospects of cooperation between the member countries of the program and expressed their commitment to the tradition of continuing the relations at an increased pace.
During the second session, the current director of the CAREC Institute, Mr. Shakel Shah, made a presentation about the latest innovations and works done in the CAREC Institute. During the discussion dedicated to this session, the ESRI's employee Natig Madatov gave concise information about the ESRI, including the ESRI's readiness for future cooperation proposals within the CAREC program.
The last, third session was presented by Mrs. Laziza Sabirova, Head of Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Department of ADB. This session reviewed the upcoming 21st CAREC Ministerial Conference and the participants were informed about the current situation.
In the end, director of ADB's East Asia Department, Mrs. Theresa Ko, delivered a wrap-up speech and expressed her deep gratitude to the officials for their participation and contribution to the meeting.
