Infrastructure development is a critical pillar for achieving and maintaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. However, according to the latest Asia-Pacific SDG Progress Report in 2021, Central Asia is falling below the region’s average on SDGs, especially Goal 9 on industry, innovation, and infrastructure. There is an emerging need for landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) in the Central Asian and neighbouring subregions to recognize the importance of climate-resilient and sustainable infrastructure development as they are particularly vulnerable to climate change, and most of their existing infrastructure is approaching or has exceeded the limits of its useful life and can no longer support the projected scale of social and economic development. As such, outdated and inadequate infrastructure urgently requires modernization and replacement across many sectors in Central Asia to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In this regard, ESCAP has taken the initiative to serve member States’ needs through the Infrastructure Financing and public-private partnerships (PPP) Network of Asia and the Pacific with over 50 country members, including all LLDCs in the region. The Fourth Thematic Workshop is co-organizing with the China Public-Private Partnerships Center (CPPPC) under the Ministry of Finance and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). ESCAP would like to utilize the network's resources to facilitate mobilizing private financing through PPP to increase financing for sustainable and resilient infrastructure in the targeted subregions and countries and strengthen their capacity to prepare bankable and feasible high-quality infrastructure projects.