A comprehensive action plan to boost regional cooperation and reduce poverty in central Asia and its neighbors was approved on Friday.

At the end of the 5th Ministerial Conference on Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), ministers from eight member countries passed the plan.

The conference, held in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, attracted officials from China, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) Governor Kuroda Haruhiko said this conference represented a new era in cooperation between central Asian countries and their neighbors.

China's Finance Minister Jin Renqing said a new phase for comprehensive cooperation is underway in central Asian regions.

According to the action plan, cooperation in the infrastructure sector will be strengthened, making trans-border transportation more convenient.

Cooperation in this region will be expanded to new areas such as human resources development, environment, travel and AIDS prevention, according to the action plan.

CAREC is a regional cooperation mechanism created by the ADB in 1997. It focuses on transport, trade facilitation, trade policy and energy initiatives that are critical to the economic performance of the region.

About 200 officials from the eight countries, the World Bank, ADB, and United Nations Development Program attended the conference.

Source: Xinhua