MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

Ministerial meeting of the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program was launched in Tbilisi. Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the 22^nd ministerial of CAREC, and spoke about the importance of the program and its activities.

“CAREC plays an important role in fostering deeper partnerships and teamwork – strengthening the sustainable economic growth, sharing prosperity and resilience in our region. Through developed strategies and operational frameworks, CAREC provides an important policy review platform and acts as a forum for sharing ideas and practical recommendations, with the active involvement of experts and representatives of member countries,” – Levan Davitashvili said.

This year, Georgia is the chairing country of CAREC for the first time after joining the organization in 2016. The ministerial meeting was attended by the highest officials of the state agencies of ten CAREC countries, representatives of the private sector, international diplomatic corps and donor organizations, including the president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Masatsugu Asakawa.

The program aims to promote economic growth and poverty reduction in the member countries, and ministerial meetings cover such important issues of regional cooperation as promotion of trade, transport, energy, etc. The main theme of the 22^nd ministerial meeting in Tbilisi was the determination of measures, strategic goals and plans for the climate change in the region. The Climate Change Vision Document developed by CAREC aims to strengthen the region’s resilience to climate risks and direct efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as transition to a low-carbon economy.

“The slogan of today’s ministerial is “Reinvigorating Regional Cooperation in Times of Changes”. Indeed, we live in an era of rapid changes and unexpected events. Strengthening our teamwork in the region is the main key to achieving joint progress and promoting green, sustainable and inclusive recovery,” – Levan Davitashvili noted in his speech.

Other priority trade and economic directions of CAREC were also discussed within the ministerial framework, which contributes to the deepening of cooperation between the member countries in a number of sectors, including transport, energy, trade, tourism, communications and information technologies.