Events

The CAREC Institute and UNICEF held a webinar on 31 March 2021 to share key takeaways from the research on development of sustainable water and sanitation systems in rural areas of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

On 30 March 2021, the CAREC Institute has delivered a workshop to share preliminary findings of its CAREC road asset management (RAM) maturity assessment and training of trainers (TOT).

The CAREC Institute, as a Secretariat of the CAREC Think Tanks Network (CTTN), held a virtual dialogue on 24 March 2021 where think tank representatives - Center for China and Globalization (CCG), the PRC; Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Japan; Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan; Economic Research Institute (ERI), Mongolia; Centre for Economic and Social Development (CESD), Azerbaijan; United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) - shared their experiences of policy support to governments, and deliberated on the strategies to remain relevant in times of crisis.

On 12 March 2021, in a virtual workshop, the CAREC Institute jointly with the Public Opinion Research Institute (Kazakhstan) shared findings of population polls about public attitudes towards vaccines in seven CAREC countries: Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The main objective of the conference was to identify means to revisit and rethink past, present, and future of CAREC in the wake of the pandemic and catalyze research on acute topics and produce relevant analytics that could aid CAREC economies stay in the forefront of sustainable development.

The CAREC Institute and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) held a joint workshop titled “Modernizing Sanitary-Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures in CAREC and Use of Digital Certification” on 24 February 2021.

The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Institute together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) conducted the first virtual workshop of 2021 on the topic of border crossing improvement with participation of project managers of the ADB-funded projects - Uran Abdynasyrov of Kyrgyzstan, Parviz Zarifzoda of Tajikistan, Norov Unurtsetseg of Mongolia, and Muhammad Ali Raza Hanjra of Pakistan – who shared lessons of these projects with other CAREC representatives. 

The CAREC Institute’s Governing Council (GC) convened on 17 December 2020 to adopt the 10th GC proceedings and make decisions on Institute’s 2020 progress report, work plan for 2021-22 and budget for 2021. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Elnur Aliyev, Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan.

The 19th CAREC Ministerial convened in a virtual mode on 7 December 2020 under the chairmanship of Minister of Finance Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal of Afghanistan, with a special message from H. E. President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani.

The CAREC Institute and Kazakh-German University in collaboration with other development partners held an online conference titled “Silk Road of Knowledge Scientific-Practical” on 25-27 November 2020.

The CAREC Institute and Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XIEG) in collaboration with the National University of Uzbekistan conducted a virtual symposium titled “Ecological Restoration and Management of the Aral Sea” on 24-25 November 2020.

The CAREC Institute in partnership with the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) held a webinar titled “Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor: Infrastructure and Trade” during 16-20 November 2020.

In 2020, UNICEF and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Institute (CAREC Institute) started a joint research on sustainable water and sanitation systems in rural areas of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The CAREC Institute held the third meeting of its Advisory Council on 21 October 2020 in a virtual mode. The Council discussed the mid-term review of the Institute’s strategy 2018-2022, its response to COVID-19 pandemic, and a proposal regarding the annual flagship publication.

The CAREC Institute in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) delivered a virtual workshop titled Unlocking Private Investments in Sustainable Infrastructure in Asia: Lessons from Central Asia targeting senior government officials/experts from investment related ministries/agencies of all CAREC countries. The four-day capacity building event was held during 23, 24, 30 September, 1 October 2020 online through a Zoom platform.

The CAREC Institute has completed a four-day capacity building online event during 10-13 August 2020, on road asset management (RAM) and RAM system targeting senior government officials and experts from ministries of transport, rural development, public infrastructure, and other relevant state agencies of the CAREC countries. The workshop was led by Dr. Ian Greenwood, a Chartered Professional Engineer, a Fellow of Engineers New Zealand, and author of several internationally renowned RAM manuals.

On 29 June 2020, the CAREC Institute, ADB, and Asia-Pacific Finance Development Institute (AFDI), co-hosted a knowledge sharing webinar on high-quality development, modernization, and policy nexus induced by COVID-19.

The CAREC Institute and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) delivered an online workshop on “Meeting Environmental Objectives through Energy Sector Reforms in Asia and the Pacific: Role of Energy Pricing Reforms and Emissions Reduction,” targeting senior government officials and leading experts from across Asian sub-regions, including CAREC.

From 18 to 19 June 2020, the CAREC Institute and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), in collaboration with Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of Chinese Academy of Sciences delivered a virtual policy workshop – “Climate Change Regional Policy Dialogue: Learning from COVID-19 Pandemic” – for senior officials from ADB member countries who are leading climate change adaptation, mitigation and financing strategies, to exchange knowledge, best practices and lessons learned on pressing climate change issues at the regional level.

On 29 May 2020, the CAREC Institute, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and UNICEF co-hosted a webinar on the role of Multilateral Development Partners (MDP) in response to Covid-19 in CAREC with emphasis on water, sanitation, and hygiene.