The 17th ministerial level conference of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) was held on Saturday in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, an official said.
Ajmal Abdul Rahimzai, deputy minister of Commerce and Industries, said, representatives of the member states Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Pakistan, Magnolia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and China participated in the conference.
The meeting was jointly chaired by deputy cabinet minister of Turkmenistan and head of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Abdul Rahimzai said Agriculture Minister Naseer Ahmad Durrani represented Afghanistan in the conference.
The participants shared their views regarding regional cooperation in the area of transport, energy, trade and approved a joint strategy for trade 2930 and its operational plan. The strategy will improve long-term trade and commerce in Central Asia and beyond.
The participants also discussed the export diversification in the CAREC countries and shared their views on regional cooperation and strengthening export.
On the sidelines of the conference the Uzbekistan Minister for External trade Jamshid Khodjaev shared his views on cooperation in the area of transit trade, implementation of bilateral agreement and preparation for second round of dialogue between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
At the end of the conference a joint statement which reflected the shared views of the member states regarding ongoing situation was issued.
