BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.9. The Trade and
Investment Facilitation Partnership Agreement (CARTIF) can become a
major catalyst for the expansion of cross-border investment in the
Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program region,
, reads the article published on the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB)
website, Trend
reports.
“Negotiations on CARTIF are expected to commence in early 2026.
For these negotiations to be successful, active engagement by the
governments of CAREC countries—as well as strong and sustained
support from other key stakeholders, including the private sector
and development partners—will be essential. Additional analytical
work and capacity building can help officials navigate the
technical complexities involved and identify mutually beneficial
solutions to issues associated with cross-border trade and
investment facilitation.
If successfully concluded and enacted, CARTIF can become a major
catalyst for the expansion of cross-border trade and investment in
the CAREC region. It would support the development of regional
value chains and production networks, promote economic
diversification, and boost shared prosperity in the region,” reads
the article.
On 20 November 2025, the 24th Ministerial Conference of the
CAREC Program adopted the Bishkek Declaration officially launching
negotiations on the CAREC Trade and Investment Facilitation
Partnership Agreement. This marked an important milestone in CAREC
countries’ efforts to advance regional economic cooperation and
integration in trade and investment.
CARTIF is intended to serve as a legal framework for closer
cooperation among CAREC countries in cross-border trade and
investment facilitation. It covers a broad range of policy areas
related to the movement of goods, services, and capital across
borders.
CARTIF has both WTO-plus features—enhanced collaboration in
areas already covered by the WTO agreements, such as trade
facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical
barriers to trade, and trade in services—and WTO-extra elements
that involve topics not comprehensively covered under the current
WTO agreements, such as investment facilitation, digital trade, and
supply chain connectivity. By bringing this broad agenda into a
single framework, CARTIF reflects the growing nexus between
cross-border trade and investment and the need for coherent,
mutually reinforcing reforms.
A key feature of CARTIF is its flexible, modular design. Under
the draft text, a binding Framework Agreement, together with a set
of Initial Protocols, is to form a single undertaking that applies
to all participating countries once in force. Additional protocols
may be negotiated later by interested parties, allowing cooperation
to deepen gradually. Accordingly, CARTIF allows countries to engage
at a pace consistent with their national priorities and levels of
readiness. This approach mirrors relevant international experience,
including the “ASEAN Minus X” formula, elements of open regionalism
in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the balance between
ambition and flexibility embodied in the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership.
CARTIF is to develop an institutional mechanism, which will be
agreed by the CAREC governments. The preliminary proposed structure
includes a Ministerial Council, a Senior Officials Council, a
Regional Trade and Investment Committee, and a Secretariat. These
bodies are intended to support the implementation, administration,
facilitation, monitoring and evaluation, and further development of
CARTIF.
CARTIF is also to have a transparent, rule-based dispute
settlement mechanism, emphasizing consultation and mutual
agreement, with additional procedures available if issues remain
unresolved. Decisions issued under this mechanism are to be binding
on the parties concerned.
