Vietnam Joins New Asia Silk Road

An intergovernmental pack on an Asia road network linking 32 regional nations, which is called the new Silk Road, came into effect yesterday.

Accordingly, a 141,000 corridor-highway will be completed by 2010, creating favored conditions for the commercial and tourism development in the block.

The first section, named United Asia Highway 1 will start in Tokyo (Japan) through North Korea, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran and end in Istanbul (Turkey).

Details for other sections have also been mapped out.

Socioeconomic Committee in Asia - Pacific (ESCAP) is calling for funding from the Asia Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank (WB), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Islam Development Bank and other partners to the project.

Vietnam is among nine nations signing the agreement. Bangladesh, the Philippines, Turkmenistan, Singapore and the North Korean have not put on their signatures. Eighteen other nations have expressed unofficial supporting to the project.

Youth