The meeting was attended by foreign ministers from Japan and five Central Asian nations -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said: “We had frank discussions to help build a stronger, richer and more open Central Asia.”

According to a joint statement, the projects will cover five areas -- trade investment, environment and energy-saving, narrowing the wealth gap, regional cooperation in stabilising Afghanistan and cooperation in disaster prevention.

"Promoting cooperation between Japan and Central Asia will contribute to help sustain peace and stability in Afghanistan and resolve problems in the international community," said Gemba in an opening speech at the meeting.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told the visiting ministers on Friday: "I place importance on Central Asia which is placed in a geopolitically important position and rich in resources and energy."

Tokyo wants Japanese firms to play a greater role in the mineral business in the region, which has ample reserves of crude oil, natural gas, uranium and other natural resources, media reports said.