The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Thursday that it will provide US$4.5 million to foster closer cooperation among member countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) by establishing a virtual institute that will coordinate research, training and dialogue within the regional organization.

ADB will provide US$4 million to the project from its technical assistance fund and another US$500,000 from its Regional Cooperation and Integration Fund, a special fund under the Regional Cooperation and Integration Financing Partnership Facility that supports technical assistance projects.

Another US$500,000 will come from the People's Republic of China Regional Cooperation and Poverty Reduction Fund, while participating governments will provide US$200,000 to complete funding requirement.

"By its virtual nature, the CAREC Institute will not have any permanent location, infrastructure or staff. This approach offers a lot of advantages by making use of existing resources and minimizing fixed investment costs before the institute starts producing tangible results," said Natasha Davis, Regional Cooperation Specialist of the Central and West Asia Department.

The CAREC Institute will further improve regional cooperation by coming up with knowledge resources that meet global standards to support regional infrastructure networks in transportation, trade and energy, ADB said in a press release.

This should help speed up identifying and developing regional projects in the priority areas.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2008)