Ministers and senior officials from the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program’s member countries met in Ulaanbaatar on September 28 for the program’s 25th anniversary Ministerial Conference. It is the centerpiece of a week of events hosted by Mongolia, this year’s CAREC chair, running from September 28 to October 2. The conference was set to produce the Ulaanbaatar Declaration, which reaffirms the CAREC 2030 strategy and lays the groundwork for cooperation toward the CAREC 2050 vision. 

The conference brought together government officials, ministers and high-level representatives of member countries, along with Asian Development Bank (ADB) leadership and representatives of international and regional organizations and development partners. First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Development J.Enkhbayar delivered the opening remarks, and ADB President Masato Kanda gave the keynote address. The conference reviewed 25 years of cooperation and discussed next-generation priorities: implementing CAREC 2030, the post-2030 vision, green and digital economic corridors, private sector participation, regional public goods, and sustainable, resilient and inclusive growth. Bilateral meetings took place between Mongolian government members and ministers from member countries, development partners and international organizations.

The week opened on Monday with a Development Partners’ Dialogue under the theme “Boosting Trade, Tourism, and Regional Competitiveness”, It was jointly organized by the Ministry of Economy and Development, the ADB and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Deputy Minister of Economy and Development S.Davaasuren delivered remarks on the first day’s proceedings. He highlighted that since joining CAREC in 2003, Mongolia has implemented major projects in regional transport connectivity, as well as infrastructure for roads, border crossings, ports, trade and logistics.

Participants discussed trade facilitation, cross-border transport and logistics, customs cooperation, “Single Window” systems, regional value chains and investment. Tourism was singled out as a new growth driver. CAREC members share Silk Road heritage, the history of nomadic and sedentary civilizations, and distinctive landscapes, and could market them as a unified regional brand with joint tourism products. CAREC’s tourism policy identifies clusters that include Mongolia, such as the “Altai,” “Gobi” and “Steppe” zones.

Business Forum opens 

The CAREC Business Forum opens on September 30 and runs through October 1. It is the first time Mongolia has hosted the event. About 400 delegates from 10 countries have registered, representing governments, international organizations, entrepreneurs, investors, chambers of commerce, business associations and development partners. Pre-event trade coverage had put expected attendance at around 250.

CAREC cooperation has focused mainly on intergovernmental dialogue and infrastructure, but the program is shifting toward private sector participation, investment, innovation and business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) collaboration. Today’s sessions, themed “Scaling Up Investment - Accelerating Infrastructure Transformation,” cover clean energy and regional energy connectivity, smart transport and logistics, and value chains for critical minerals and manufacturing.

A memorandum of understanding to establish the CAREC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Alliance (CCA), an initiative of the Ministry of Economy and Development, is to be signed at the opening. Its inaugural meeting is scheduled for Thursday. The alliance would be a permanent mechanism linking chambers of commerce and business organizations across member countries. 

Trade publication Highways Today reported that CAREC’s current work reaches beyond physical infrastructure into digital logistics, border modernization, energy interconnection, critical minerals value chains and the financing structures needed to draw in private capital. It noted that preparations included a senior officials’ meeting in Ulaanbaatar in June, followed by August discussions on border upgrades, a CAREC Digital Corridor and a Critical Minerals to Manufacturing Financing Partnership Facility. The same outlet cautioned that a wide gap remains between presenting a project pipeline and turning those projects into reality.

Mongolia signaled its aims for the chairmanship early. In December 2025, State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance J.Ganbat said Mongolia was committed to working with all members to build a stable, prosperous and investment-friendly region. ADB set out its own direction at last year’s conference in Bishkek on November 20, 2025, where Kanda announced more than 10 billion USD in ADB financing through 2030 and described the vision as a region that is “economically resilient, environmentally sustainable, socially inclusive, and digitally connected”.

Launched in 2001, CAREC unites 11 countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, along with development partners. Between 2001 and 2025, some 57.9 billion USD was invested in 300 regional projects: 19.7 billion USD from the ADB, 26.5 billion USD  from other development partners and 11.7 billion USD from member governments. The money supported transport corridors, energy connectivity, and border crossing, port and trade facilitation infrastructure. The region is home to 1.8 billion people and an economy of about 20.6 trillion USD, or 16.3 percent of global GDP. Intra-regional trade rose from 1.9 percent in 2001 to 4.9 percent in 2024, and mutual investment from 0.5 to 3.3 percent. The share of people living on less than three USD a day fell from 54.5 percent in 2001 to 17 percent in 2025.

Published Date:2026-09-30