Director
CAREC Institute
Vice President
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Nonresident Senior Fellow
Global Economy and Development Program, Brookings Institution
Chief Economist
CAREC Institute
Director
Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia Regional Capacity Development Center, IMF
Senior Economist
ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO)
Executive Director, Mekong Institute
Country Representative for Pakistan
International Water Management Institute（IWMI）
Regional Economist
Central and West Asia Department of ADB
Head of Climate and Energy Research Group
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
Regional Cooperation Specialist
CWRC, ADB
Director
Eurasian Research Institute of the Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Turkish-Kazakh University, Kazakhstan
Executive Director
Crossroads Central Asia, Kyrgyz Republic
Research Director
Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG), Georgia
Country Director
ADB Kazakhstan Resident Mission
Senior ResearchFellow
ADBI
Chief Economist and Deputy Managing Director
Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development
Head of Turkic World Research Center
Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication (CAERC), Azerbaijan
Associate Research Fellow and Coordinator of the “Dual Carbon” Project
Center for International Knowledge on Development, China
Director
Economic Research Institute, Mongolia
Managing Director
Public Organization “Fund for Poverty Reduction”
Chief of Financing for Development Section
United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Thailand
Head of the Centre for Infrastructure and Industrial Research
Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), Kazakhstan
Senior Economist
Economic Research and Development Impact Department of ADB
The CAREC Think Tank Development Forum is organized annually under the auspices of the CAREC Think Tank Network (CTTN). Every year the Forum brings together leading practitioners from think tanks, multilateral development partners, governments, and the private sector from the CAREC region to brainstorm regional challenges and provide diverse perspectives and innovative solutions to address these challenges through dialogue, experience sharing, and knowledge collaboration.
This year, the seventh edition of the forum will be held under the theme “Embracing Digital Technology for Sustainable Economic Development” and will consist of seven sessions on the role of digital technology in driving sustainable economic growth, the readiness of the CAREC region for digital adoption, the promotion of digital technologies, investments in key digital infrastructure and favorable business environment, the development of e-commerce and digital finance; and discussions of opportunities and challenges for the labor market, digital governance, and the CAREC startup ecosystem. In the closing session, CTTN members will discuss how think tanks, through strategic advocacy, can provide policy makers with the information and guidance they need to develop effective policies that promote economic growth, stability and prosperity.
The forum will discuss, among others, (i) findings of CTTN Research Grants Program (RGP) studies; (ii) the role of digital technology in spurring economic development; (iii) digital strategies, governance, and infrastructure; (iv) digital divide and policies for boosting digital skills and competencies; and (v) E-commerce, governance, financial inclusion and FinTech.
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The CAREC Think Tank Development Forum (CTTDF) is organized annually under the auspices of the CTTN. The forum has become an attractive platform for think tanks, academia, private sector and governments from the CAREC region and beyond to exchange views and knowledge on evolving regional and global policy challenges.
The First Forum: “Promoting Economic Cooperation for an Integrated Central Asia”, Almaty, Kazakhstan
20-21 JUNE 2016
The CAREC Institute hosted the first CAREC Think Tank Development Forum in June 2016 in Astana, Kazakhstan, with the theme of “Promoting Economic Cooperation for an Integrated Central Asia.” The Forum was successfully organized in partnership with Graduate School of Public Policy of Nazarbayev University and with support from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Kazakhstan. The Forum focused on three main themes: i) economic prospects of Central Asia, ii) necessities, opportunities and challenges of strengthening connectivity of infrastructures in Central Asian region, and iii) building a knowledge sharing network among CAREC member countries.
The Second Forum: “Exploring Knowledge Solutions for Regional Cooperation and Integration.”, Urumqi, PRC
SEPTEMBER 2017
The second Forum was held in Urumqi, PRC, in September 2017 with the theme of “Exploring Knowledge Solutions for Regional Cooperation and Integration.” The 2nd Forum was organized in partnership with ADB and ADB-Regional Knowledge Sharing Initiative (RKSI) and discussed the topics on regional economic cooperation and integration, avenues for cooperation in infrastructure and trade, and institutional developments of think tanks in the region. During the Forum, the participants adopted the “Urumqi Declaration” – a founding document to officially establish the CAREC Think Tanks Network. For the 2nd Forum report, please visit here.
The Third Forum: “Building Knowledge Corridors along the Silk Road”, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic
17-18 JULY 2018
Realizing its role as a knowledge arm of the CAREC 2030, the CAREC Institute partnered with the National Institute of Strategic Studies (NISS) of the Kyrgyz Republic to organize the 3rd Forum in Bishkek in July 2018 with a thematic focus on building knowledge corridors along the Silk Road. Over 100 participants deliberated on the concept of knowledge corridors as an interconnected web of thoughts and ideas of knowledge enablers (government), knowledge articulators (sector experts), knowledge generators (research entities), and knowledge transformers (business sector) to translate knowledge into tangible gains and advance regionalism for shared prosperity. For the 3rd Forum report, please visit here.
The Fourth Forum: “Trading for Shared Prosperity”, Xi’an, PRC
27-28 AUGUST 2019
The fourth Forum was organized in cooperation with ADB, Regional Knowledge Sharing Initiative (RKSI) and International Economics and Finance Institute (IEFE) of the Ministry of Finance of the PRC on 27-28 August 2019 with a theme of “Trading for Shared Prosperity” in one of the ancient cities and starting points of the Silk Road, Xian, Shaanxi Province, the PRC. The Forum brought together around 130 participants from think tanks, academia, private sector, and governments to deliberate on trade expansion from increased market access, greater diversification, and stronger institutions for trade under the CAREC Integrated Trade Agenda (CITA) 2030 in the context of heightened US-PRC trade tensions and expansion of disruptive technologies. For the 4th Forum report, please visit here.
The Fifth Forum: “Economic Corridors: Pathways to Regional Growth”, virtual
23-24 NOVEMBER 2021
The fifth Forum was organized on 23-24 November 2021 under the theme of “Economic Corridors: Pathways to Regional Growth” in collaboration with the ADB-PRC Regional Knowledge Sharing Initiative (RKSI) and the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (TIIAME). Over 150 representatives of member governments, think tanks, universities, development partners, international organizations, and individual consultants attended the forum. The forum speakers presented their perspectives and experiences exploring the economic case for developing the economic corridors, stocktaking of progress made on CAREC and BRI corridors and learning from the best practices in comparable regions such as the Greater Mekong Sub-region, South Asia Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Program, and sub-national level corridors in Malaysia. The forum concluded that economic corridors are important tools for creating new economies by connecting factors of production through an integrated infrastructure linking cities and countries. For the CAREC region, the development of economic corridors offers immense opportunities for growth and development. For the fifth Forum report, please visit here.
The Sixth Forum: “Recalibrating Growth Dynamics for Inclusive and Sustainable Economies”, Baku, Azerbaijan
15-16 SEPTEMBER 2022
The sixth Forum was organized under the theme of “Recalibrating Growth Dynamics for Inclusive and Sustainable Economies” in Baku, Azerbaijan, in partnership with the ADB-PRC RKSI, the Economic Scientific Research Institute (ESRI), the Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD) and with support of ADB. The Forum deliberated on i) the overview of CAREC economies and how much recalibration is needed for inclusive and sustainable growth; ii) CTTN regional research report on “Access to health, education, digital technologies and women’s participation in the workforce” were presented bringing case studies from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan; iii) State of progress on UN SDGs in the CAREC region taking stock of the progress on 17 goals, the bottlenecks, and policy prescription for achieving the set targets under SDGs; and iv) Climate vulnerabilities and the case for green energy in the CAREC region. In conclusion, v) Proposals for building alliances for shared prosperity were discussed by building the case for inclusive growth for non-governmental actors, private sector, civil society, and academia in shared prosperity. For the sixth Forum report, please visit here.
The Seventh Forum: “Embracing Digital Technology for Sustainable Economic Development”, Urumqi, the PRC
16-17 AUGUST 2023
The Seventh CAREC Think Tank Development Forum (CTTDF) was organized on August 16-17, 2023, in Urumqi, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in partnership with China-Eurasia Expo Secretariat, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Finance Department, ADB-PRC Regional Knowledge Sharing Initiative (RKSI) and with the support of the Asian Development Bank. The forum was held under the theme “Embracing Digital Technology for Sustainable Economic Development” and discussed the role of digital technology in driving sustainable economic growth, the readiness of the CAREC region for digital adoption, the promotion of digital technologies, investments in key digital infrastructure and favorable business environment, the development of e-commerce and digital finance; and discussions of opportunities and challenges for the labor market, digital governance, and the CAREC startup ecosystem.For the Seventh Forum report, please visit here.