Ulaanbaatar (mongolia): The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program marked its 25th anniversary on Tuesday with $60.2 billion in cumulative investment, as ministers adopted a declaration setting priorities for deeper regional cooperation and stronger trade and investment links.
The CAREC partnership, which has grown from five founding countries to 11 members, has supported improvements in transport and energy connections and expanded access to markets across the region, according to an ADB press release.
‘Cooperation asks countries to place part of their future in one another’s hands,’ said Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda.
‘For 25 years, CAREC countries have accepted that responsibility and done the patient work of earning mutual confidence. We owe respect to those who built this partnership, and determination to make it work better for those who will inherit it,’ he added.
The next phase would focus on facilitating trade among CAREC countries and attracting investment through improved border crossings and stronger electricity and digital networks.
Trade among CAREC countries accounted for only about five per cent of their total trade last year, indicating significant scope for expanding intra-regional business, the release said.
To unlock this potential, ADB is advancing a new generation of economic corridors in the CAREC region, bringing together investments in transport, energy, digital connectivity, trade, human capital and urban development.
ADB plans to provide more than US$ 7.5 billion in financing through 2030 and aims to catalyze around US $ three billion in private sector financing. The investments are expected to strengthen regional connections, create bigger markets and better jobs, and promote shared prosperity across the region.
More broadly, ADB has committed approximately US$ three billion since the beginning of 2025, representing about 30 per cent of the indicative US$ 10 billion financing envelope through 2030 announced at last year’s ministerial conference.
The financing covers projects in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
As of August 2026, CAREC’s cumulative investment had reached US$ 60.2 billion, including US$ 19.9 billion from ADB. ADB projects under CAREC have improved more than 20,000 kilometers of roads and railways, helping reduce travel times and trade costs.
The recently approved ADB Border Upgrades for Integration, Logistics and Development (BUILD) Facility would provide up to US$ 400 million to modernize border crossings. Proposed negotiations on the CAREC Trade and Investment Facilitation Partnership would complement these investments by establishing more predictable rules for trade and investment.
In the energy sector, CAREC has a project pipeline expected to reach about US$ 1.5 billion by 2030, linked to ADB’s Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative.
ADB is also exploring a proposed power link across the Caspian Sea involving Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to expand trade in clean electricity.