U.S., Central Asian nations to join hands to enhance counterterrorism, economic cooperation

The U.S. and five Central Asian countries on Wednesday agreed to launch five regional projects aimed at expanding cooperation on counterterrorism, economic development and climate change.

The agreement was reached at the second U.S.-Central Asia (C5+1) foreign ministerial meeting hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, which was also attended by foreign ministers from Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

"So today, we hope to make further progress through a new regional approach built around initiatives on counterterrorism, trade and investment, economic development, and clean energy," Kerry said in the opening remarks.

The United States plans to support the five projects with up to 15 million U.S. dollars, the U.S. State Department said in a news release.

The six countries agreed to launch the Global Counterterrorism Forum Regional Dialogue in order to "counter the challenges of foreign terrorist fighters and radicalization to violence in Central Asia."

The dialogue will bring together policymakers and experts from Central Asia and abroad to share perspectives on the threat of foreign terrorist fighters, including best practices and regional approaches for countering the radicalization, departure, and return of fighters, the State Department said.

Under the Central Asia Business Competitiveness project, the six countries will seek to make it easier for businesses in Central Asia to increase exports and enter new markets.

They also agreed on the Transport Corridor Development (TCD) project, which aims to reduce the cost and time of moving goods across borders in Central Asia, as well as improve the quality of transport and logistics services throughout the entire region.

The Power the Future project will help energy sector policymakers to scale up renewable energy throughout Central Asia. It will provide technical and planning assistance on U.S. and international best practices to increase renewable energy sector development.

Under the Supporting National and Regional Adaptation Planning project, the countries will seek to increase the capacity of Central Asian states to plan for adaptation against the impacts of climate change, including identifying regional priorities and cross-border challenges for climate change adaptation.

The first C5+1 meeting was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in November 2015, with the six ministers agreeing to develop regional projects to improve security, promote economic connectivity, and fight climate change. Enditem