Pakistan is preparing to make knowledge sharing a major part of its CAREC agenda in 2027, when it is scheduled to assume the chairmanship of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Programme and host the 26th CAREC Ministerial Conference.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal outlined the proposal during the CAREC Institute’s Governing Council meeting in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He called for greater regional exchange of research, expertise, policy experience and practical solutions among CAREC members.
The proposal comes as Pakistan prepares for a broader CAREC role focused not only on transport and economic corridors, but also on digital connectivity, trade facilitation, climate resilience, skills development and institutional cooperation.
Pakistan’s official Planning Ministry has separately confirmed that the country is preparing to take over the CAREC chairmanship in 2027 and host the next ministerial conference.
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Pakistan CAREC 2027: What Is Being Proposed?
The CAREC Programme brings together countries and development partners to promote regional economic cooperation, connectivity and shared development.
CAREC’s work covers areas including transport, trade, energy, digital connectivity and economic cooperation. The CAREC Institute serves as a regional knowledge and capacity-building institution. Its current activities include research, policy dialogue, training and knowledge management.
During the September 2026 meetings in Ulaanbaatar, Ahsan Iqbal proposed expanding the knowledge-sharing role of the CAREC Institute.
The idea is to create mechanisms through which countries can share:
- Policy tools and approaches
- Data and research
- Project evaluations
- Practical experiences
- Technical expertise
- Lessons from regional projects
- Solutions to similar development challenges
The minister also proposed a regional expert directory and a peer-exchange facility that could connect officials working on similar issues across CAREC countries.
This would add a knowledge and institutional dimension to CAREC cooperation alongside its existing focus on infrastructure, trade and connectivity.
1. A Regional Knowledge Platform
One of the central proposals is the development of a regional knowledge platform.
The proposed platform would allow CAREC countries to exchange information about policies, projects and development experiences. Instead of each country addressing similar challenges independently, officials could access examples and lessons from other CAREC members.
The proposed areas include trade facilitation, digital customs, logistics, renewable energy, agriculture, disaster response and skills development.
A regional knowledge platform could also provide a structured way to document whether particular policies or projects have produced the expected results.
The CAREC Institute already has an established role in research and capacity building. Its 2026–2030 strategy emphasizes research, knowledge management and responsiveness to member-country needs.
For Pakistan CAREC 2027, the proposed platform could therefore build on existing regional institutions rather than creating an entirely separate knowledge system.
2. Expert Directory and Peer Exchange
Another proposal is an expert directory that would help officials identify specialists and counterparts working on similar challenges.
For example, customs authorities dealing with digital border systems could exchange experience with counterparts in another CAREC country. Similarly, officials working on agricultural resilience, renewable energy or disaster management could establish direct professional exchanges.
A peer-exchange facility could potentially support:
- Government-to-government learning
- Technical workshops
- Study visits
- Policy discussions
- Project reviews
- Research collaboration
- Professional training
The proposal reflects a broader emphasis on practical knowledge rather than simply producing reports.
The CAREC Institute has already conducted regional workshops and training programs involving officials and research institutions from CAREC countries, including activities related to digital and green trade facilitation.
Pakistan’s proposed approach would seek to expand this type of regional exchange during its 2027 chairmanship.
3. Digital Trade and Pakistan Single Window
Digital trade is another important part of the Pakistan CAREC 2027 agenda.
Ahsan Iqbal has pointed to Pakistan’s Pakistan Single Window (PSW) as an example that could be shared with regional partners.
The Pakistan Single Window is a government-backed digital trade platform designed to provide a single electronic platform for import, export and transit-related regulatory processes. According to the official PSW website, the platform was established to simplify, harmonize and digitize trade processes.
Pakistan Single Window official platform
Iqbal has also called for a CAREC Digital Corridor, with digital systems helping reduce paperwork and improve the movement of trade information across borders. Pakistan’s official government statement said the Pakistan Single Window could provide a foundation for phased digital integration with regional partners.
Business Recorder separately reported that Pakistan proposed harmonizing customs regulations and using artificial intelligence to digitalize border processes across the CAREC region.
The broader objective would be to make cross-border trade more predictable by enabling electronic information exchange, coordinated procedures and fewer repeated checks.
4. Economic Corridors and Trade Connectivity
Knowledge sharing is only one part of Pakistan’s planned CAREC agenda.
Pakistan has also been discussing the development of CAREC Corridors 5 and 6 as routes connecting Central Asia with Pakistan’s Arabian Sea ports and wider global markets.
According to Pakistan’s Planning Ministry, Iqbal said these corridors could support trade and economic activity if transport infrastructure is combined with logistics, digital connectivity, energy cooperation and climate resilience.
The minister has argued that successful corridors require more than roads alone.
The proposed approach includes:
- Upgraded CAREC roads
- Modern border facilities
- Improved rail freight capacity
- Better connections to dry ports
- Stronger links with seaports
- Logistics and production hubs
- Cold storage facilities
- Warehousing
- Packaging facilities
- Light manufacturing
These facilities could help connect transit routes with local production and export activity.
The Planning Ministry has specifically identified Torkham and Chaman border facilities, the proposed ML-1 railway upgrade, dry ports and seaports as parts of the wider transport chain.
The Asian Development Bank’s role is also relevant because it is a major development partner in the CAREC Programme and can support project preparation and financing.
Asian Development Bank’s CAREC Programme
5. Climate Resilience and Disaster Response
Climate resilience is another proposed area of regional cooperation.
Cross-border trade corridors can be affected by floods, extreme heat, landslides and other climate-related risks. Because transport networks cross national borders, disruptions in one location can affect wider supply chains.
Pakistan has proposed that new roads, railways and logistics infrastructure should take climate risks into account. The Planning Ministry also highlighted the importance of coordinated regional approaches to climate resilience.
Knowledge sharing could support this area by allowing CAREC countries to exchange information about:
- Flood-resistant infrastructure
- Climate-risk mapping
- Disaster response systems
- Early-warning mechanisms
- Water management
- Climate-resilient agriculture
- Emergency logistics
The CAREC Programme already includes climate cooperation within its regional framework. Its Climate Change Action Plan 2025–2027 is one example of the programme’s work on regional climate issues.
For Pakistan, which has significant experience dealing with floods and other climate-related events, disaster-response knowledge could become another area for regional technical cooperation.
6. Universities, Research and Skills Development
Pakistan’s proposed knowledge-sharing agenda also extends beyond government institutions.
Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistani universities and research institutions would be encouraged to participate in the CAREC knowledge network.
This could create opportunities for cooperation between researchers, universities, think tanks and government agencies across the region.
Potential areas include:
- Regional economic research
- Trade and logistics studies
- Climate research
- Agricultural technology
- Renewable energy
- Artificial intelligence
- Digital trade
- Public policy
- Skills development
The CAREC Institute already conducts research and capacity-building activities, while its regional network includes policy experts and research institutions.
Pakistan’s Planning Ministry has also emphasized the role of education and research in responding to technological and economic changes. In a September 2026 statement, Iqbal described knowledge and research as important foundations for development in the context of a rapidly changing global economy.
The proposed CAREC knowledge network could therefore connect Pakistan’s domestic research priorities with wider regional cooperation.
7. What Pakistan CAREC 2027 Could Focus On
Pakistan is expected to take over the CAREC chairmanship in 2027 and host the 26th CAREC Ministerial Conference.
Based on the proposals announced in Ulaanbaatar, the country’s CAREC agenda could include several interconnected areas.
| Area | Proposed focus |
|---|---|
| Knowledge sharing | Regional platform for data, research and policy experience |
| Expert cooperation | Expert directory and peer-exchange facility |
| Digital trade | Digital customs and cross-border information exchange |
| Pakistan Single Window | Potential model for regional digital integration |
| Economic corridors | CAREC Corridors 5 and 6 and links to Arabian Sea routes |
| Logistics | Warehousing, cold storage, packaging and production hubs |
| Climate resilience | Infrastructure and regional disaster-response cooperation |
| Education and research | Greater involvement of universities and research institutions |
| Skills | Regional capacity building and professional exchanges |
The wider CAREC agenda is also moving toward greater digital and green cooperation. The CAREC Programme’s recent activities include digital trade facilitation, regional containerization and research into artificial intelligence in transportation.
Pakistan’s chairmanship will therefore take place within an existing regional framework rather than starting from zero.
The country’s proposals will ultimately need to be discussed and developed with other CAREC members and development partners.
Why Knowledge Sharing Matters for CAREC
Regional cooperation often involves countries facing similar challenges but operating with different institutions, regulations and levels of infrastructure.
Knowledge sharing can provide a mechanism for comparing approaches and adapting them to local conditions.
For example, one country may have developed an effective digital customs process, while another may have experience with climate-resilient infrastructure or agricultural technology.
A regional platform could make it easier to identify these experiences and examine how they might be adapted elsewhere.
This is also consistent with the CAREC Institute’s existing role. The institute describes its work around knowledge generation, capacity building and regional cooperation.
For Pakistan, the 2027 chairmanship could provide an opportunity to connect its own experiences, including the Pakistan Single Window, with broader CAREC discussions.
Pakistan’s Wider CAREC Agenda
The knowledge-sharing proposal is part of a broader set of ideas Pakistan has presented during the 2026 CAREC meetings.
In addition to knowledge cooperation, Pakistan has discussed transforming CAREC routes into economic corridors that integrate infrastructure, logistics, digital systems, energy cooperation and climate resilience.
Pakistan has also highlighted the potential role of private investment and public-private partnerships in developing regional infrastructure and digital networks.
At the same conference, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the CAREC Capital Markets Development Forum and the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum to promote cooperation and connectivity between capital markets, including knowledge and regulatory cooperation.
These developments show that the 2027 chairmanship is being discussed within a broader framework covering trade, finance, infrastructure, digital connectivity and institutional cooperation.
Final Takeaway
Pakistan’s planned CAREC 2027 chairmanship is expected to include a stronger emphasis on regional knowledge exchange alongside infrastructure and trade connectivity.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has proposed a regional knowledge platform, an expert directory and peer-exchange mechanisms covering areas such as digital customs, logistics, renewable energy, agriculture, disaster response and skills development.
Pakistan has also presented the Pakistan Single Window as a possible example for regional digital cooperation while continuing to promote CAREC Corridors 5 and 6, improved logistics, climate-resilient infrastructure and stronger links between Central Asia and Arabian Sea routes.
The country is scheduled to assume the CAREC chairmanship in 2027 and host the 26th CAREC Ministerial Conference. The implementation of these proposals will depend on cooperation among CAREC member countries, the CAREC Institute and development partners.
