Sound planning is key to achieving the full benefit from Free Trade Agreements with Central Asian countries
Regional integration and multilateral trade are beneficial for the participating countries provided that they tap the existing potential intelligently. The European Union and the ASEAN are relevant examples; their members set common goals for the prosperity of their peoples.
Pakistan, too, has been a member of regional trade blocs in the past and benefitted from such association. Lately, there has been a focus on increasing trade and cooperation among regional countries. This has been supported by the Asian Development Bank and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Institute under the CAREC framework. The CAREC is an inter-governmental forum representing 11 countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.