The tenth meeting of the Turkmen-Japanese Economic Committee is being held in Tokyo, the official Turkmen source said on Friday. Both countries are discussing prospects for joint investment projects in the oil and gas industry, chemical industry and fisheries, communications, transportation, banking, textile industry at the governmental level.

• July 18, 2012

ranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said his country was prepared to raise its trade volume with the Central Asian nation to $10 billion, up from $5 billion in 2011.

• July 17, 2012

There is a perception amongst those fighting the government in Pakistan that the only sure shot way of drawing Islamabad's attention is to attack the Chinese, as the government does not pay much heed to attacks on hapless Pakistani citizens, says Alok Bansal.

• July 17, 2012

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov will pay an official visit to the Swiss Confederation in October 2012, the Turkmen government reported today with reference to Swiss President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf's greetings addressed to the Turkmen leader.

• July 16, 2012

On 16 July Defence Minister of Azerbaijan, colonel general Safar Abiyev received ambassadors of China Hun Tsui and Uzbekistan Sherzod Fayziyev, News.Az reported.

• July 16, 2012

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that there is currently no obstacle in the way of expanding barter trade exchanges with different countries, particularly Pakistan, FNA reported.

• July 16, 2012

Today, the bulk of immigrants to Russia come from Central Asia, and the trend is likely to remain over the next 10-15 years. The most recent Russian census showed that the number of Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Kyrgyz living in the country had roughly doubled since the previous count.

• July 14, 2012

Armenia and Georgia have held fresh Western-sponsored training exercises aimed at improving their capacity to prevent illegal trafficking of weapons of mass destruction through their territories.

• July 14, 2012