About CAREC Think Tanks Network
Established in 2017, the CAREC Think Tank Network (CTTN) is a network of leading think tanks from the member countries of the CAREC Program. Consistent with the CAREC 2030 objectives to promote policy dialogue among members and development partners and deliver and disseminate quality knowledge services for regional economic cooperation, the (CTTN) brings together leading regional think tanks to promote regional cooperation and integration (RCI) through shared ideas, information, and joint research. To this end, the CTTN administers a research grants program (RGP) to encourage member think tanks to undertake research on pressing regional issues and organize an annual CAREC think tank development forum (CTTDF) to serve as a platform for the exchange of ideas and knowledge.
Today the Network includes many prominent think tanks, universities and research institutions from 11 CAREC member countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, PRC, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).
Past Forums
The CAREC Think Tanks
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 CTTDF 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 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
SEPTEMBER 2017
The second CTTDF 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 CTTDF 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 CTTDF was organized in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (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 CTTDF 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 SEPTEMBERr 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.