China’s vice minister of finance on Saturday reaffirmed the Chinese government’s commitment to and support for Central Asia’s economic development in Tajik capital Dushanbe.

China will work together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other parties concerned to contribute to regional economic development and common prosperity in Central Asia, Li Yong told the 6th Ministerial Conference on Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) in Dushanbe reports Xinhua.

Some 200 officials or representatives from eight member states and international organizations including the World Bank, the ADB, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Development Program attended the conference.

Li said he hoped that the ADB and other international organizations would provide more funding and technical support for CAREC, an ADB-supported regional cooperation mechanism initiated in 1997.

There should be increased cooperation between CAREC and other organizations including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, said Li.

CAREC will carry out more than 100 investment and technical assistance projects in 10 years, which will need some 20 billion U.S. dollars.

The meeting also approved a transport and trade facilitation strategy, which focuses on the construction of six Eurasian transport lines.

CAREC, which groups China, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, focuses on regional initiatives on transport, trade facilitation, trade policy and energy.