"The US-Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meeting focused on identifying ways to increase trade and investment in the five Central Asian nations," spokesman of the Office of the State Department said in a statement.

All sides agreed that meeting under the framework of the Agreement provides an important opportunity to improve regional economic cooperation and expand US-Central Asia trade and investment opportunities, the statement said.

The meeting, chaired by Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher who was joined by senior officials from Kazakhastan, Kyrgyistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan with representatives from India, Afghanistan and Pakistan, focused on the ways in which the US can support Central Asian nations' development into independent, prosperous, and democratic states, integrated into the world economy.

The meeting was part of a series of events centered on the Third Annual Meeting of the US-Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) at the Office of the US Trade Representative.

"The re-opening of Afghanistan has created promising new possibilities and opportunities for these nations to develop infrastructure and economic links to the south, especially in the areas of trade, transportation, energy and communications," the statement said.