URUMQI (APP) - The investment friendly environment and business opportunities available in Pakistan were highlighted here at the CAREC Business Development Forum started here on Friday. The Economic Minister at the Pakistan Embassy Beijing Sardar Aminullah Khan in his representation said that the strategic location of his country is very important for the purposes of achieving the objective of CAREC and to develop trade and investment in the region. The Forum, which is part of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program, brought together over 300 participants including CAREC and government officials, representatives from state-owned industries, private sector investors, and members of national chambers of commerce. The Forum was attended by the representatives of the eight regular Members and two guest members viz Pakistan and Armenia. Pakistan was represented by Sardar Aminullah Khan, Economic Minister Embassy of Pakistan, Beijing China. The delegation from Pakistan, led by Senator Ahmed Ali could not proceed to China to attend the forum due to international flights problem after crash of the Air Blue aircraft in Islamabad. The proceedings of the Forum started from the condolence for the victims of the air crash. Sardar Aminullah expressed gratitude for condoling death of precious lives in the air crash and also thanked the organizers for inviting his country for attending the august forum. The two-day Business Development Forum on Central Asia, which was co-hosted by Government of the Peoples Republic of China and Asian Development Bank and Xinjiang Autonomous Region showcased trade and investment opportunities in the region and the mechanisms needed to tap them. In his keynote address, ADB Vice-President (Operations 1) Xiaoyu Zhao said Central Asia faces the fundamental challenge of converting its abundant resources into high-value goods and services, a transformation he said can only be achieved through genuine partnerships with the private sector. Private sector participation could be a catalyst to removing the challenges in the region by bringing capital, management and technology to infrastructure rehabilitation and modernization within the countries, and across their national borders, Mr. Zhao said. Earlier in his remarks at the Forum, the ADB Vice-President (Operations 2) Lawrence Greenwood said that boosting trade is an important element of private sector led growth strategies in the region, requiring close cooperation among CAREC members toward reducing the cost of cross border transactions. The CAREC, comprising Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Peoples Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and six multilateral partners, including ADB, was established in 1997. Its work includes improving Central Asias physical infrastructure, harmonizing customs and other trade facilitation procedures and promoting trade in power. ADB has served as its Secretariat since 2000. One of its critical goals is to develop a seamless network of six transport corridors which will connect member countries to each other as well as providing links to the fast-growing economies of East and South Asia, and established markets in Europe and the Russian Federation. The regional group is set to mark a decade of successful operations in 2011 with close to $15 billion in investments which have contributed to accelerated economic growth and improved living standards. Public-private partnerships can play a vital role in exploiting Central Asias vast economic potential, senior officials at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) told a business forum here. ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members including 48 from the region. In 2009, it approved a total of $16.1 billion in financing operations through loans, grants, and guarantees, a trade finance facilitation program, equity investments, and technical assistance projects. ADB also mobilized co-financing amounting to $3.2 billion. The CAREC is one of the important economic forums of the region and it can help contribute to development of the country through improvement in the infrastructure, trade facilities and capacity building in the fields of trade and investment policies for leveraging the cooperation with the member countries. This was the second conference of CAREC after its establishment 10 years ago.