CAREC Institute Governing Council Held Its 12th Meeting

The CAREC Institute Governing Council held its 12th meeting on 8 December 2021 to approve the Institute’s operational plan and budget for 2022, provide direction and guidance, and endorse various governing documents. At this council meeting, the national focal point (NFP) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) took over the chairmanship from Azerbaijan.

The CAREC Institute Director Syed Shakeel Shah briefed the council on the Institute’s work results. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Director General for Central and West Asia Eugene Zhukov congratulated the Institute on increased recognition and called for more targeted and relevant research for member countries. The ADB’s Principal Regional Economist Lyaziza Sabyrova highlighted the importance of enhancing work on the decarbonization cooperation platform.

Tajikistan NFP Nematullo Hikmatullozoda noted the increased relevance and utility of the Institute’s work in the last two years, and requested more focus on people-to-people relations and consideration of the national context in the Institute’s work, establishment of closer operational ties with sectoral branches and technical coordination committees.

The PRC NFP Lu Jing recommended strengthening convergence with other regional initiatives, and enabling provision of regional public goods. He advised the Institute to focus on public health, climate change, green development, and digital economy; promote trade; facilitate investment; consider member country development needs and trajectories; employ the demand-driven approach; strengthen dialogue; expand and enhance the research network and its impact; provide higher quality policy advice to achieve more resilient post-COVID recovery; host more flagship forums to increase visibility; strengthen institutional capacity and financial sustainability; and optimize resources.