Islamabad; 07 Dec 2020 – President of Afghanistan Mr. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani while delivering his special message, at 19th Virutal Ministerial Conference of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation CAREC, especially appreciated the Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent visit to Kabul. He termed the PM Imran Khan’s visit an importance milestone in strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing prospectus for regional cooperation and integration.
CAREC Program is a partnership of 11 countries and 6 development partners working together to promote development through cooperation, leading to accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction. It is guided by the overarching vision of “Good Neighbors, Good Partners, and Good Prospects.”
The ministers & senior representatives of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also addressed to the conference. Senior representatives of ADB, IMF, WB, AIIB, IDB, EBRD, EIB, OFID, USAID, UN Agencies, WTO and JICA also attended the Conference.
The Minister, in his remarks, highlighted the significance of regional cooperation such as CAREC for Pakistan in achieving shared goals of sustainable development and economic growth.
Mr. Bakhtyar reiterated the importance of regional connectivity not only through road network but also rail, aviation and ports for unleashing trade and tourism potential in the region.
While endorsing the Framework, he emphasized that setting specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) targets along with active monitoring & annual reporting, we can effectively monitor the progress leading to implementation of CAREC’s Vision 2030.
The Minister highlighted that tourism is part of national development policy of the Government of Pakistan and this sector contains immense untapped potential. He suggested the development of regional tourism corridor, establishment of CAREC Business Council and increased involvement of the private sector in promoting tourism.
