Regions and Countries

	Table of Contents
p. 15 of 20 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment II. Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies IV. Regional Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work Program IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - Kazakhstan

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IV. Regional Cooperation

48. Strengthening regional economic cooperation is important for realizing the development aspirations of the countries in Central Asia, in view of their landlocked location far from the markets of industrialized countries. Economic growth and poverty reduction in the Central Asian countries demand developing new trading relations within the region and new trading partners and transport links to external markets. Since early 1997, ADB has been providing technical assistance to encourage economic cooperation among its Central Asian DMCs (i.e., Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan as well as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China). Activities under Phase I (1997-1998) of this initiative concentrated on identifying infrastructure needs and policy issues in the areas of energy, trade and transportation. As a result of Phase I activities, the high priority of rehabilitating the road linking Almaty in Kazakhstan with Bishkek in the Kyrgyz Republic was identified and a parallel set of loan and TA packages prepared. This project is expected to be presented to the Board in late 2000 and has received confinancing support from EBRD and the European Union.

49. Activities in Phase II, commencing in 1999, intensify the initiative on regional cooperation. ADB sponsored the high-level Conference on Central Asian Regional Cooperation in Transportation in Almaty, Kazkahstan in September 2000. Two additional high-level conferences in Central Asia on energy and trade will be held in 2001. The conferences aim at identifying priority investment projects of the involved governments for ADB assistance and policy and institutional reforms needed for implementing these projects. In addition, moderate steps are being taken to broaden ADB’s regional initiative in areas such as education, health, and rural finance. ADB’s planned activities for encouraging regional economic cooperation in Central Asia are discussed in detail in its Central Asian Assistance Plan.

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