Achievements and Prospects:
The states participating to the central Asian Economic Cooperation had determined the areas in which the regional cooperation should be primarily developed, such as trade cooperation, creation of a single market for agricultural production, industrial cooperation, creation of a single transport and communication system and the area of fuel-energy resources. Unfortunately, except from improvements into tax harmonization, the partial elimination of double taxation and the creation of an Interstate Bank of Cooperation and Development, the steps taken within the CAEC framework were relatively unsuccessful. Indeed, the numerous resolutions taken were only rarely followed by the stage of implementation. One of the purposes of the creation of the CACO in 2002 was to improve its effectiveness, in order to distinguish it from its predecessor. During the CACO meeting in July 2003, the president of Kazakhstan has requested on behalf of CACO help from the IFI in the formulation of strategies in order to solve major regional issues. As far as trade is concerned, the member states recently proposed the creation of a single market in the region, thanks to a “stage by stage” strategy, and the creation of an FTA within 15 years.
The recent integration of Russia into the agreement (May 28th, 2004) is very likely to change the center of gravity of CACO. The main focus of CACO is presently the improvement of regional safety and stability, as the basis for further improvement in the economic situation in the region.