1.	The twentieth meeting of the Overseas Economic Cooperation Council was held on March 5, 2009, from 17:30 to 18:15. Prime Minister, Chief Cabinet Secretary, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry attended the meeting.
2.	In the meeting, under the subject "Overseas economic cooperation for Central Asia and Caucasus," the policy of economic cooperation for the region was discussed.
3.	First, it was confirmed that Japan will actively implement overseas economic cooperation toward Central Asia and Caucasus, under the concept of "Arc of Freedom and Prosperity," bearing in mind the region 1) is located in the center of Eurasia and its stability is crucial for whole Eurasia's stability; 2) abounds in energy and mineral resources; 3) is important in the context of countermeasures against terrorism in Afghanistan.
4.	Specifically, it was agreed that Japan will effectively promote cooperation especially in the following fields based on the notion that helping the region move towards democratization and market economies and fostering the regional cooperation are important for the region's development: 1) Providing focused supports for human resource development and institution-building, including the assistance using Japan center for human resource development; 2) Forging a strategic partnership which is conducive to securing resources through assistances in such fields as nuclear power; and 3) Fostering open regional cooperation through active assistance to infrastructure including the transportation route to the Indian Ocean. It was also agreed that promoting high level dialogue with the region, including early holding of the third Foreign Minister's Meeting of "Central Asia plus Japan" Dialogue, is important in terms of further strengthening the relations between Japan and Central Asia.
5.	Furthermore, it was agreed that Japan, with a view to stabilizing the region centering on Afghanistan, will strengthen its support for a) enhancing border management capacity, b) developing roads and railroads to Afghanistan, and c) reducing poverty, in the neighboring area of Afghanistan in Central Asia as part of countermeasures against terrorism and narcotics.