Eight countries have agreed to an $18 billion strategy to improve Central Asia's network of roads, airports, railway lines and seaports to make the region a vital transit route for trade between Europe and Asia-a modern-day equivalent of the ancient Silk Road, Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a statement. The plan was agreed at a meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan attended by Ministers from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and supported by ADB and five other multilateral institutions. "Central Asia is becoming a pivotal region in Eurasia, a vital land-bridge linking Europe, Russian Federation, China, South Asia, and the Middle East," the ministers said in a joint declaration at the end of the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Programme. --MORE
