Eurasian Integration Yearbook 2012

The Economics of the Post-Sovietand Eurasian Integration7. Links with non-member partners and other regional organisations have beenat best sporadic. CAREC organised two development partner meetings (in2009 and 2011) for information purposes and has invited official partnersto participate in some of its technical committee meetings. The CARECSecretariat also engaged in some outreach to and meetings with otherregional organisations in Central Asia. However, these efforts have at besthelped a limited exchange of information, and have not yet resulted ineffective coordination among partners and organisations 32 .8. Participation of and interest from the private sector and civil society hasbeen limited to date. CAREC organised two business forums andsome outreach events to civil society organisations (CSOs) in membercountries. However, this has not led yet to serious private sector and CSOengagement.9. The work of the CAREC Institute has been, at best, of limited impact. Itstraining activities did not focus on specific sectoral and regional capacitybuilding needs, its analytical work has to date not produced significantresults, and its networking with knowledge institutions (universities, thinktanks, etc.) in the region has been limited.10. The work of the CAREC secretariat, while of high technical quality, sufferedfrom the fact that after 2007 ADB moved the secretariat, which previouslyhad been located in Almaty, Kazakhstan, to ADB headquarters in Manila,Philippines. This substantially reduced the secretariat’s effectivenessin building greater understanding, consensus and capacity for regionalcooperation needs among the stakeholders in Central Asia.11. CAREC has been unwilling or unable to address, let alone resolve, a numberof key issues and events that represent a direct challenge to progress in itscore mandate of fostering integration through improved trade, transport,trade facilitation and energy cooperation. Among these are the following:• The tensions between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan over Tajikistan’sintentions to build the hydro-dam at Rogun; this has led to actions byUzbekistan that have severely affected Tajikistan, including selectiveborder closures, interference with rail transit and blockage of Tajikistan’saccess to electricity and gas imports 33 .• During the food crisis of 2008-2009 Kazakhstan blocked exportsof grain, including to its Central Asian neighbours, in the interest32For a summary of the CAREC Development Partners’ Forum in Baku in November 2011 see CAREC (2011b). Participationat that Forum was limited, with statements by non-member representatives made only for the bilateral aid agencies ofFrance, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US. It should be noted that closer partnership with other organisations also requiresreceptivity on the prospective partner’s side, which has not always been forthcoming.33Uzbekistan has a long-standing practice of severely restricting border exchanges, including mining of some of its borders(UNDP, 2005).112 EDB Eurasian Integration Yearbook 2012