A new Center of Advanced Technologies will be created in Uzbekistan under the Ministry of Innovative Development, Uzbek media reported citing the presidential decree “On the formation of the Center for Advanced Technologies under the Ministry of Innovative Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan”.

The international forum entitled as "the Great Silk Road – the path to new achievements" will take place in the national tourist zone of Avaza at the Caspian Sea shore, "Altyn Asyr" TV channel reported.

UN Special Envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura considers it necessary to agree not only on a military de-escalation, but also on a political de-escalation in Syria, TASS reports.

Tajikistan will participate in the Expo 2020, to be hosted by Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Tajik agency ASIA-Plus reported on April 20.

The afternoon foreign currency trading session ended at Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). Twenty-seven banks participated in the trades, KASE said in a message.

Italy is one of the most active trade partners of Kazakhstan and the two countries aim to further develop cooperation in a number of areas.

A delegation of the Foreign Ministry of Uzbekistan participated in the meeting of the senior officials of the “The Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process” forum in Istanbul, Turkey on April 19, Uzbek media reported on April 20 citing the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Uzbekistan.

The production of MAN trucks and buses has been launched in Kazakhstan, the Association of Kazakhstan Automobile Business reported.

Deputy Minister of Innovative Development of Uzbekistan Sherzod Shermatov met with the World Bank mission led by Diego Ambasz and Tatyana Shin, Uzbek media reported on April 20.

The lower house of Tajik parliament ratified the financial document on the rehabilitation of the Nurek hydro power plant (HPP) on April 19, Tajik media outlets reported.

Tajikistan continues to increase production of cement and expand export of this construction material. The country increased cement exports by almost 2.5 times over the past year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed increasing the trade turnover between Turkey and Kazakhstan to $10 billion, at a meeting with Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said in a message.

Armenia’s law enforcement agencies detained 83 opposition activists protesting against election of former president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan as the country’s prime minister, RIA Novosti reported citing Edgar Janoyan, Head of the Analytics, Information and Media Relations Department of the Police.

Uzbek government is rolling out a pilot project in Tashkent on issuing ID cards instead of traditional passports, Uzbek media reported on April 20.

The Committee on Constitutional Legislation, State Structure, Judicial and Legal Issues of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan approved the structure and program of the new cabinet of ministers, Kyrgyz media outlets reported.

Kyrgyzstan's First Deputy Minister Dinara Kemelova met with Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Center, Ambassador Marcel Pesko, Kyrgyz media outlets reported.

Fitch Ratings, the international rating agency, affirmed Kazakhstan’s long-term issuer default rating (IDR) at ‘BBB’ with ‘Stable’ outlook on April 17.

Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics and Iraqi Ministry of Communications signed a technical and specialized cooperation agreement, IRNA reports.

Consultations on consular issues between Turkmenistan and Tajikistan took place in Dushanbe, the state migration service of Turkmenistan said on April 20.

A senior Iranian diplomat has implicitly warned that Tehran may walk away from the 2015 nuclear deal, blaming the US administration over its approach to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA aka nuclear deal).

The development of a road map on solar energy in Turkmenistan was the focus of an OSCE-supported discussion in Ashgabat for officials from the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Institute of Solar Energy of the Academy of Science of Turkmenistan, the State Committee for Environment Protection and Land Resources, professors from the Mary Turkmen State Energy Institute and representatives of other relevant institutions and nature protection public organizations.

Armenia's current leadership is a political force that supports terrorism and that came to power through terror, Azerbaijani MP Bakhtiyar Aliyev told Trend on April 19.

Iranian Education Minister Mohammad Bathaei has proposed to teach Persian and Russian in the schools of the two countries as a second language amid deepening cooperation between Tehran and Moscow to challenge the US.

Kazakh Stock Index (KASE) Index decreased by 14.09 points (0.57 percent) from 2,465.03 to 2,450.94, according to shares trading results on Kazakh Stock Exchange on April 19, 2018.

The first deputy head of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), Jamoliddin Nouraliyev, has proposed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost cooperation, Tajik agency “ASIA-Plus” reported on April 20.