Ahsan Proposes Regional Knowledge Hub To Strengthen CAREC Cooperation
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday proposed transforming the CAREC Institute into a trusted regional knowledge clearing house to turn the experience of member countries into practical solutions for shared economic and development challenges.
Addressing the Governing Council meeting of the CAREC Institute in Ulaanbaatar, he said that after 25 years of building infrastructure, the next phase of regional cooperation must focus on sharing knowledge and expertise across borders, beyond just moving goods and energy.
He proposed:
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A living CAREC knowledge platform: Featuring regional data, policy tools, project evaluations, and practical experiences, enabling policymakers to quickly adapt successful approaches from other countries to their own challenges.
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Expert directory: Connecting regional specialists in various fields, such as trade facilitation, digital customs, logistics, renewable energy, disaster response, agriculture, and skills development.
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CAREC peer exchange facility: Facilitating collaboration among officials facing similar challenges, fostering knowledge sharing and best practices.
Professor Ahsan Iqbal emphasized that the Institute’s work should be demand-driven, closely linked to policy decisions, and measured by practical impact. He called for stronger regional cooperation on:
- Coordinated border management
- Interoperable digital trade systems
- Shared climate-risk information
As Pakistan prepares to assume the CAREC Chairmanship in 2027, he pledged to place knowledge exchange at the center of its agenda and collaborate with member countries, the Institute, and the Asian Development Bank on economic corridors, trade facilitation, digital connectivity, and climate resilience.
He highlighted Pakistan's experience with the Pakistan Single Window as a potential case for regional peer exchange and encouraged Pakistani universities and research institutions to join the CAREC knowledge network.
"The next twenty-five years of CAREC should show what we can learn together," Ahsan Iqbal concluded, "and what that learning allows us to achieve." He stressed the need for the CAREC Institute to evolve into a regional hub that gathers, tests, shares, and puts knowledge to work, helping member countries translate evidence into practical policies and regional action.