Azerbaijan and several Central Asian countries have joined a new Asian Development Bank-backed initiative aimed at strengthening cross-border cooperation on water resources and enhancing climate-resilient water management across the region, marking a coordinated push to address growing environmental and water security challenges.

The initiative brings together Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The ADB-approved project is being implemented under the water pillar of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) framework, The Caspian Post reports via ADB.

The total cost of the technical assistance package is $750,000, to be financed through ADB’s Special Technical Assistance Fund. The support will focus on establishing a regional cooperation platform that connects participating countries, sector experts, policy solutions and investment projects to ensure coordinated and sustainable development of water resources.

ADB noted that the project will strengthen institutional mechanisms for regional interaction, modernize procedures and tools for climate-resilient water management, and build a knowledge base to prepare and implement future priority projects adapted to climate challenges.

Azerbaijan has been an ADB member since 1999. Over this period, the bank has invested about $5.6 billion in the country-$4.4 billion in the public sector and $1.2 billion in the private sector. The largest funding areas have been transport ($1.5 billion) and energy ($1.7 billion). Under a new partnership strategy, ADB is ready to invest up to $2.5 billion more in Azerbaijan.

Established in 1966 and headquartered in Manila, ADB has 69 member countries, including 50 from the Asia-Pacific region.