The railway line will help bring trade and humanitarian aid from the border town of Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan’s second largest city. Construction is scheduled to be finished in November. The transmission line, completed in 2009, is already supplying many of the capital’s 4 million people with uninterrupted power for the first time in decades.

Such rail and electricity projects are hallmarks of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program, which is helping Central Asian countries move towards a larger vision of a truly integrated and globally connected Asia, seamlessly interlinked and working in common purpose.

CAREC provides the finance and ideas—notably in the areas of energy, trade, and transportation—leading to accelerated economic growth and closer cooperation among countries in the region.

Later this month, Uzbekistan will be among eight member countries represented at CAREC’s 9th Ministerial Conference, to be hosted by the government of Afghanistan on the island of Cebu in the Philippines. As it prepares for the 10th year of ministerial collaboration, the regional grouping can boast more than US$13 billion in CAREC-associated investments that have contributed to sustainable economic growth and improved living standards across Central Asia.

“Through deeds rather than words, CAREC is proving to be the master key that unlocks Central Asia’s vast economic potential,” said Juan Miranda, Director General for the Central and West Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). “The presence of Uzbekistan in Cebu underscores the value this country places on CAREC, and in turn, the value CAREC places on Uzbekistan.”

Uzbekistan has received US$950 million for CAREC-related projects since 2001. A further US$350 million is slated for construction of Central Asia’s first 800-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Talimarjan that will improve the efficiency of Uzbekistan's electricity supply and generate power destined for neighboring countries.

A US$600 million multitranche financing facility will also be available for reconstruction of over 220 kilometers of road, which connects Uzbekistan to Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

CAREC was founded in 1997 as a partnership of eight countries - Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the People's Republic of China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—and six multilateral institutions—ADB, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and World Bank—with a mandate to help the region realize its economic potential and connect with neighboring and international markets. ADB has served as CAREC’s secretariat since 2000.

High on the agenda for ministers attending the conference from 31 October to 2 November will be the endorsement of Pakistan and Turkmenistan as the group’s newest members, bringing an extra dimension of southern access for the countries of Central Asia.

In addition, a Ministerial Retreat will be held for the first time, where discussions will focus on developing a vision to expand CAREC’s partnership and cooperation for the second decade of ministerial collaboration.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2009, it approved a total of US$16.1 billion in financing operations through loans, grants, guarantees, a trade finance facilitation program, equity investments, and technical assistance projects. ADB also mobilized cofinancing amounting to US$3.2 billion.