ADB to invest over $10B in South Caucasus and Central Asia by 2030

ADB plans to invest more than $10 billion in regional connectivity, clean energy, digital transformation, and inclusive infrastructure across the entire South Caucasus and Central Asia by 2030, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda said while answering a question from Report's correspondent at a press conference dedicated to the 59th Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors in Samarkand.

"Connectivity is one of the three main themes of this year's annual meeting, and the South Caucasus, together with Central Asia, has great potential for future regional cooperation. I firmly believe that regional integration is a growth engine for these regions, and it will build collective resilience against the external shocks we are currently experiencing, particularly through the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program," the bank's president stated.

Kanda emphasized that within the CAREC framework, ADB has been supporting market integration and strengthening cross-border trade for over twenty years.

"ADB plans to invest more than $10 billion in regional connectivity, clean energy, digital transformation, and inclusive infrastructure across the entire region by 2030. Through the digital corridor, we will support a terrestrial fiber-optic network that will connect people, businesses, and markets across borders. This will certainly be part of the Asia-Pacific Digital Highway, the launch of which I just announced," he added.