II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2749 

To update the Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999 to modify targeting of assistance in order to support the economic and political independence of 

the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus in recognition 

of political and economic changes in these regions since enactment of 

the original legislation. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 4, 2006 

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. KYL, and Mrs. HUTCHISON) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To update the Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999 to modify 

targeting of assistance in order to support the economic 

and political independence of the countries of Central 

Asia and the South Caucasus in recognition of political 

and economic changes in these regions since enactment 

of the original legislation. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Silk Road Strategy Act of 2006’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD COUNTRIES IN 

CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS 

Sec. 101. Relationship between the United States and the countries of Central 

Asia and the South Caucasus. 

Sec. 102. Protecting United States business abroad. 

TITLE II—PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF UNITED STATES 

INTERESTS IN CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS 

Sec. 201. Relationships between the United States and the countries of Central 

Asia and the South Caucasus since passage of the Silk Road 

Strategy Act of 1999. 

Sec. 202. United States interests in the countries of Central Asia and the 

South Caucasus. 

Sec. 203. Sense of Congress on safeguarding of United States interests in the 

countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH

6 CAUCASUS.—The term ‘‘Central Asia and the South 

7 Caucasus’’ means the area including the countries of 

8 Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, 

9 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, 

10 and Uzbekistan. 


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1 TITLE I—UNITED STATES POL2 ICY TOWARD COUNTRIES IN 

3 CENTRAL ASIA AND THE 

4 SOUTH CAUCASUS 

5 SEC. 101. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES 

6 AND THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA AND 

7 THE SOUTH CAUCASUS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States has significant 

9 long-term interests in the countries of Central Asia and 

10 the South Caucasus. These interests concern security, eco11 nomic development, energy, and human rights. Accord12 ingly, it is the policy of the United States to seek political 

13 and economic stability in the social development of, and 

14 cooperative relationships with, the countries of Central 

15 Asia and the South Caucasus, including by providing as16 sistance in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act of 

17 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.). 

18 (b) DEMOCRACY, TOLERANCE, AND THE DEVELOP19 MENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY.—It is the policy of the United 

20 States to promote independent, democratic government 

21 and the protection of human rights, tolerance, and plu22 ralism in Central Asia and the South Caucasus within the 

23 overall framework of United States national interests, in24 cluding the global war on terrorism, counterproliferation 


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1 efforts, the fight against extremism and ethnic and reli2 gious fanaticism, and energy security. 

3 (c) CONFLICT RESOLUTION.—It is the policy of the 

4 United States to aid in the resolution of ethnic, religious, 

5 interstate, and intraregional conflicts and to support polit6 ical, economic, and security cooperation in Central Asia 

7 and the South Caucasus in the interest of fostering re8 gional stability, development of the rule of law, coopera9 tion based on free markets supported by strong institu10 tions, and economic interdependence. 

11 (d) ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.—It is the policy of the 

12 United States to reduce poverty in Central Asia and the 

13 South Caucasus through economic growth, promoting sus14 tainable development through private investment in all 

15 economic sectors, including agriculture, education, private 

16 sector development, and capacity-building. 

17 (e) DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE.—It is the 

18 policy of the United States to aid in the development of 

19 infrastructure in Central Asia and the South Caucasus for 

20 energy and energy transit, communications, transpor21 tation, and health and human services. 

22 (f) DEFENSE AND BORDER CONTROL ASSISTANCE.— 

23 It is the policy of the United States to assist the countries 

24 of Central Asia and the South Caucasus in developing in25 digenous defense capabilities, securing borders, and impleVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:35 May 06, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2749.IS S2749

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1 menting effective controls to prevent the proliferation of 

2 materials related to weapons of mass destruction and traf3 ficking in conventional weapons, persons, and narcotics. 

4 SEC. 102. PROTECTING UNITED STATES BUSINESS ABROAD. 

5 Consistent with the purposes of the Overseas Private 

6 Investment Corporation, it is the policy of the United 

7 States to promote and protect the interests of United 

8 States businesses and investments in Central Asia and the 

9 South Caucasus. 

10 TITLE II—PROTECTION AND 

11 PROMOTION OF UNITED 

12 STATES INTERESTS IN CEN13 TRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH 

14 CAUCASUS 

15 SEC. 201. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES 

16 AND THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA AND 

17 THE SOUTH CAUCASUS SINCE PASSAGE OF 

18 THE SILK ROAD STRATEGY ACT OF 1999. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Since the enactment of the Silk 

20 Road Strategy Act of 1999 (22 U.S.C. 2296 et seq.), sig21 nificant changes have occurred to the political, economic, 

22 and security conditions in Central Asia and the South 

23 Caucasus, requiring modifications to United States policy 

24 toward the countries in the region in order to protect and 

25 promote United States interests. 


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1 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find2 ings: 

3 (1) Since September 11, 2001, the need for mu4 tually beneficial security cooperation between the 

5 United States and the countries of Central Asia and 

6 the South Caucasus has grown, while the United 

7 States has come to view democratization of the 

8 countries in the region as essential to enhanced se9 curity. 

10 (2) Such development features popular sov11 ereignty, institutional checks and balances, and a vi12 brant civil society. These in turn require a civil ad13 ministration that is competent, honest, respectful of 

14 citizens’ rights, and sensitive to the needs of a mar15 ket economy. 

16 (3) The liberation of Afghanistan from Taliban 

17 misrule and the new course in Afghanistan toward 

18 political and economic openness make possible the 

19 country’s reintegration into Central Asia. 

20 (4) The ouster of the Taliban from Afghanistan 

21 has diminished threats to that country’s neighbors 

22 in Central Asia, allowing for accelerated progress to23 ward democracy, open economies, and the rule of 

24 law across the region. Afghanistan’s embrace of popVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:35 May 06, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2749.IS S2749

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1 ular sovereignty and political pluralism demonstrates 

2 the universal applicability of these values. 

3 (5) The Governments of Azerbaijan and 

4 Kazakhstan, which have contributed to United 

5 States military deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, 

6 and Kosovo, are key United States partners in diver7 sification of energy sources and transportation 

8 routes, enhancing and contributing to United States 

9 energy and security interests. 

10 (6) In recognition of global and regional threats 

11 to stability, prosperity, and democracy in Afghani12 stan, including terrorism, political-religious extre13 mism, and production and trafficking of narcotics, 

14 and in recognition of Afghanistan’s geographic loca15 tion and cultural and historical identity, Afghanistan 

16 should be considered to be among the countries of 

17 Central Asia, and not separate from them. 

18 (7) In recognition of security cooperation from 

19 the Government of Kazakhstan, including deploy20 ment of the Kazakhstan contingent in Iraq, progress 

21 toward a market economy, United States business 

22 participation in energy and infrastructure develop23 ment in Kazakhstan, and an ongoing Government of 

24 Kazakhstan policy of ethnic and religious tolerance, 


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1 a relationship with Kazakhstan is of high impor2 tance to the United States. 

3 (8) The 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia, the 

4 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, and the 2005 

5 Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan demonstrate the es6 sentialness of steady progress toward democracy and 

7 the rule of law. While these revolutions resulted in 

8 the ouster of corrupt and ineffective regimes by 

9 largely peaceful protest movements, the long-term 

10 interests of security, stability, good governance, and 

11 economic growth are better served by evolutionary 

12 democratization. 

13 (9) Relations between the United States and 

14 the Republic of Kyrgyzstan are of great importance, 

15 in particular in view of the democratic developments 

16 in that country and in light of the location of a 

17 United States military base at the Manas Airport 

18 near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. 

19 (10) The President of Turkmenistan, 

20 Saparmurat Niyazov, engages in persistent gross 

21 violations of human rights, including the suppression 

22 of democratic and religious freedoms, brutality, and 

23 leads a government that lacks accountability and re24 jects the rule of law. 


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1 (11) There has been a deterioration of demo2 cratic freedoms, rule of law, norms of democracy, 

3 and human rights in Uzbekistan, as well as a dete4 rioration of relations between the Governments of 

5 the United States and Uzbekistan. 

6 (12) The President of Uzbekistan, Islam 

7 Karimov, engages in continued gross violations of 

8 human rights, including the killing of hundreds of 

9 protestors at a rally in Andijan in 2005. 

10 (13) The pressing need for diversification of en11 ergy resources makes access to Central Asian and 

12 Caspian Sea oil and gas resources a high energy se13 curity priority of the United States. 

14 (14) The dangerous and destabilizing policy 

15 statements of the President of the Islamic Republic 

16 of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and actions by the 

17 Islamic Republic of Iran in the area of nuclear 

18 power, including uranium enrichment, threaten 

19 international security in general and regional secu20 rity in Europe and Asia in particular. 

21 SEC. 202. UNITED STATES INTERESTS IN THE COUNTRIES 

22 OF CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH 

23 CAUCASUS. 

24 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The economic and political stability of the 

2 countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus 

3 has a direct impact on United States interests. 

4 (2) Stability, democratic development, protec5 tion of property rights, including mineral rights, and 

6 rule of law in countries with valuable energy re7 sources and infrastructure, including Kazakhstan, 

8 Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan, are important to 

9 safeguard United States energy security. 

10 (3) Preventing any other country from estab11 lishing a monopoly on energy resources or energy 

12 transport infrastructure in the countries of Central 

13 Asia and the South Caucasus that may restrict 

14 United States access to energy resources is impor15 tant to the energy security of the United States and 

16 other consumers of energy in the developed and de17 veloping world. 

18 (4) Extensive trade relations with the energy19 producing and energy-transporting states of Central 

20 Asia and the South Caucasus will enhance United 

21 States access to diversified energy resources, thereby 

22 strengthening United States energy security, as well 

23 as that of energy consumers in developed and devel24 oping countries. 


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1 (5) Stability in the countries of Central Asia 

2 and the South Caucasus is important to the security 

3 interests of the United States. 

4 (6) In order for the United States to maintain 

5 bases for its troops in the proximity of the military 

6 conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States 

7 should seek to maintain good relations with the 

8 countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus. 

9 (7) It is in the interest of the United States 

10 and the global war on terror for the United States 

11 to maintain friendly relations with Muslim states in 

12 Central Asia and the South Caucasus that promote 

13 democracy, open economies, and the rule of law in 

14 the region. 

15 (8) It is in the interest of the United States to 

16 make any and all efforts to prevent the proliferation 

17 of materials for weapons of mass destruction and 

18 the trafficking in narcotics and persons, much of 

19 which can be attributed to porous borders and insuf20 ficient security between the countries of Central Asia 

21 and the South Caucasus. 


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1 SEC. 203. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SAFEGUARDING OF 

2 UNITED STATES INTERESTS IN THE COUN3 TRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH 

4 CAUCASUS. 

5 (a) PROMOTION OF DEMOCRACY, TOLERANCE, AND

6 THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY.—It is the sense 

7 of Congress that political legitimacy is founded upon pop8 ular sovereignty and is critical to stability, that key com9 ponents of political legitimacy are regular elections, and 

10 that the United States Government should engage in the 

11 following programs and activities designed to promote de12 mocracy, tolerance, and the development of civil society 

13 in Central Asia and the South Caucasus: 

14 (1) Support for free and fair elections, includ15 ing the formation of election bodies that are broadly 

16 representative of the political spectrum and the 

17 maintenance of equal conditions for candidates and 

18 parties. 

19 (2) Instruct the United States delegation to the 

20 Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Eu21 rope (OSCE) and to other international bodies to re22 sist efforts by some member states to undercut the 

23 role of OSCE election monitoring conducted by the 

24 Office for Democratic Institutions and Human 

25 Rights (ODIHR) and to aggressively promote the 

26 role of independent and local election monitors. 


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1 (3) Support for the development of independent 

2 media outlets, including print, radio, television, and 

3 Internet, and the provision of authoritative news and 

4 a broader range of media options than is currently 

5 available. 

6 (4) Support for satellite television broadcasting 

7 into Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran in the na8 tive languages of these countries through Radio 

9 Freedom/Radio Liberty, Radio Farda, Al Alam, and 

10 independent radio and television broadcasters in the 

11 United States and Europe, including in the lan12 guages of Azerbaijani, Pashtun, Persian, Uzbek, and 

13 Turkmen, specifically to inform the populations in 

14 those countries of the ideas and values of freedom, 

15 democracy, and human rights and development 

16 issues relating to their diasporas in the United 

17 States. 

18 (5) Assistance in the establishment of regional 

19 academic programs to train civil servants in modern 

20 systems and principles of good governance, including 

21 the rule of law, transparency, conduct of elections, 

22 respect for citizens’ rights, and the needs of a mar23 ket economy. 

24 (6) Support for the establishment of reputable 

25 think tanks, independent public policy research orgaVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:35 May 06, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2749.IS S2749

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1 nizations, and centers for strategic and economic 

2 studies in the countries of Central Asia and the 

3 South Caucasus. 

4 (7) Support for the development of separation 

5 of powers, specifically the emergence of independent 

6 legislative and judicial branches of government. 

7 (b) CONFLICT RESOLUTION.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that the United States Government should engage 

9 in the following programs and activities designed to pro10 mote conflict resolution in Central Asia and the South 

11 Caucasus: 

12 (1) Active assistance in the resolution of re13 gional conflicts and the removal of impediments to 

14 cross-border commerce. 

15 (2) Recognizing that China and Russia are 

16 neighbors and regional powers of Central Asia and, 

17 in the case of Russia, of the South Caucasus, and 

18 that those countries have in the past taken steps at 

19 odds with United States security interests, such as 

20 in the case of curbing the United States military 

21 presence in Uzbekistan, the continuation and expan22 sion of a strategic dialogue with Russia and China, 

23 including United States participation as an observer 

24 in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) for 


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1 the purpose of promoting stability and security in 

2 the region. 

3 (3) Acknowledgment of the importance of main4 taining peace in the Caspian region for the pros5 perity and long-term stability of the countries in 

6 greater Central Asia, including calling on the Cas7 pian littoral nations, including Iran, to step up mari8 time border delineation and demilitarization efforts, 

9 making the Caspian Sea a zone characterized by 

10 peace and cooperation. 

11 (4) Encouragement of conflict settlement in the 

12 South Caucasus to further increase trade, specifi13 cally by supporting the restoration, expansion, and 

14 usage of the railroad through the Georgian region of 

15 Abkhazia, the highway through the Georgian region 

16 of South Ossetia, and the ‘‘Road of Peace’’ through 

17 the Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh. 

18 (5) Calling on the Governments of Azerbaijan 

19 and Turkmenistan to resolve the outstanding debt 

20 issue, which is hindering cross-border cooperation 

21 and development, and to jointly develop the Kyapaz 

22 (Serdar) disputed offshore oil field, which would con23 tribute to the peace and stability of the Caspian re24 gion. 


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1 (6) Calling on the governments of the five lit2 toral states of the Caspian Sea, Russia, Azerbaijan, 

3 Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, to establish a 

4 legal order demarcating the seabed and its resources 

5 based on a national sector regime, one that goes be6 yond the Iranian-Soviet treaties of 1921 and 1940, 

7 which defined rules for shipping and fishing, but not 

8 for oil and gas exploration and development. 

9 (7) Assistance in the removal of legal and insti10 tutional barriers to continental and regional trade 

11 and harmonization of border and tariff regimes, in12 cluding improved mechanisms for transit through 

13 Pakistan to Afghanistan and other countries in Cen14 tral Asia, and the recognition of Turkey as a crucial 

15 energy transit and consumer country, vital for the 

16 successful development of large-scale energy infra17 structure and cross-border projects. 

18 (c) ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND INTERNATIONAL

19 TRADE.—It is the sense of Congress that the United 

20 States Government should engage in the following pro21 grams and activities designed to promote economic co22 operation and international trade with countries in Cen23 tral Asia and the South Caucasus: 

24 (1) Assistance in accelerating the broad and eq25 uitable privatization of state enterprises in a manner 


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1 that does not promote oligarchical rule and the de2 regulation of national economies in a manner that 

3 allows equal access to nonresident companies to pri4 vatization procedures. 

5 (2) Expansion of activity under the Trade and 

6 Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), includ7 ing reducing barriers to trade and investment, pro8 tection of workers’ and property rights, fostering an 

9 environment of transparency and predictability, en10 couraging private sector growth and foreign and do11 mestic investment, and removing impediments to in12 creased intraregional trade and investment, particu13 larly with respect to Afghanistan. 

14 (3) Support for the completion of the review 

15 process of the Export-Import Bank of the eligibility 

16 of countries in the region for financing under the 

17 Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635 et 

18 seq.). 

19 (4) The facilitation of greater access for Af20 ghanistan and other countries of the South 

21 Caucasus and Central Asia to loans from the Ex22 port-Import Bank. 

23 (d) ECONOMIC REFORM.—It is the sense of Congress 

24 that the United States Government should engage in the 


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1 following programs and activities designed to promote eco2 nomic reform in Central Asia and the South Caucasus: 

3 (1) Promotion of structural reforms in financial 

4 and banking institutions that increase transparency 

5 and efficiency and enhance macroeconomic stability. 

6 (2) Promotion of the development of the Trans7 Caspian Oil and Gas Pipelines (TCOP/TCGP), while 

8 encouraging the Governments of Azerbaijan, 

9 Kazakhstan, and particularly Turkmenistan to im10 prove their business climate and investor confidence 

11 by fully disclosing their internationally audited hy12 drocarbon reserves. 

13 (3) In light of greatly increased revenues from 

14 energy exports and the related dangers of macro15 economic instability and economic overheating, the 

16 establishment of a bank, the Caspian Bank of Re17 construction and Development (CBRD), where ex18 cess revenues can be funneled to infrastructure de19 velopment projects in the region, and the tasking of 

20 the Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private 

21 Investment Corporation with assisting in setting up 

22 and operating the bank. 

23 (4) Support for countries in the region seeking 

24 qualification for Millennium Challenge Account 

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1 essary further reforms, recognizing that while Arme2 nia and Georgia have qualified and signed compacts 

3 with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, other 

4 advanced economies of the region, such as Azer5 baijan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, should be 

6 aided with more rapid improvement of their 

7 rankings to become first ‘‘threshold’’ and then ‘‘can8 didate’’ countries for purposes of such assistance. 

9 (5) Support for countries in the region seeking 

10 accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), 

11 furnishing assistance to facilitate economic reform 

12 for countries in the region, and extension of uncon13 ditional and permanent nondiscriminatory treatment 

14 (permanent normal trade relations treatment) to 

15 countries in the region, especially to Azerbaijan and 

16 Kazakhstan. 

17 (6) Encouraging governments of countries in 

18 Central Asia and the South Caucasus and United 

19 States businesses operating in the region to adhere 

20 to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative 

21 (EITI), and in recognition that Azerbaijan, 

22 Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have joined the EITI 

23 initiative, encouraging other countries of the region 

24 to follow suit. 


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1 (7) In conjunction with increasing transparency 

2 of energy-related payments and revenues by the gov3 ernments of, and companies in, the Central Asia and 

4 South Caucasus region, encouraging geological data 

5 on all energy resources and assets in the region to 

6 be made available to better understand remaining 

7 reserves, which would stabilize the global energy 

8 markets. 

9 (8) Promotion of antimonopoly initiatives, par10 ticularly to diversify transportation routes for hydro11 carbon and electric energy, and promotion of com12 petition in these sectors. 

13 (e) INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT.—It is the 

14 sense of Congress that the United States Government 

15 should engage in the following programs and activities de16 signed to promote infrastructure development in Central 

17 Asia and the South Caucasus: 

18 (1) Assistance in the development of the infra19 structure necessary for communications, transpor20 tation, education, health, and energy and trade on 

21 an east-west axis in order to build strong inter22 national relations and commerce between the coun23 tries in the South Caucasus and Central Asia region 

24 and the Euro-Atlantic community. 


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1 (2) Support for activities that promote the par2 ticipation of United States businesses and investors 

3 in the planning, financing, and construction of infra4 structure for communications, transportation, and 

5 trade, including aviation, highways, railroads, port 

6 facilities, shipping, banking, insurance, telecommuni7 cations networks, and gas and oil pipelines. 

8 (3) Support for the development of physical in9 frastructure for continental and regional trade, in10 cluding the completion of the crucial core road sys11 tem in Afghanistan, the linking of other regional 

12 roads with the road system, and working with other 

13 donors to complete east-west and north-south trans14 port corridors in the region. 

15 (4) Support for the addition of a crucial rail 

16 link in Kazakhstan from Almaty to the port city of 

17 Aktau, which would allow tankers and cargo ships to 

18 transport crude oil and other goods across the Cas19 pian to Baku, and from there to Europe through 

20 Georgia and Turkey; this east-west corridor, which 

21 is already partially financially supported by the Eu22 ropean Union within the Transport Corridor Eu23 rope-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) initiative, would 

24 greatly increase and accelerate cargo and container 


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1 traffic across the Caspian Sea and from the greater 

2 Central Asian region. 

3 (5) Support for the construction of energy tran4 sit infrastructure, including the Trans-Caspian Oil 

5 Pipeline (TCOP) in Kazakhstan, from Aktau to 

6 Baku, which would carry oil from the Karachaganak 

7 field, and the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TCGP), 

8 from Turkmenistan or neighboring areas of 

9 Kazakhstan to Baku, which would carry natural gas. 

10 (f) DEFENSE AND BORDER CONTROL ASSISTANCE.— 

11 It is the sense of Congress that the United States Govern12 ment should support regionwide initiatives in Central Asia 

13 and the South Caucasus to train and coordinate border 

14 control, law enforcement, and security forces between con15 tiguous countries. 

16 (g) ADDITIONAL MECHANISMS FOR IMPLEMENTA17 TION OF THIS ACT AND ACHIEVEMENT OF ITS OBJEC18 TIVES.—It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

19 Government should, for the purpose of further imple20 menting, and achieving the objectives of, this Act, promote 

21 and support establishment of one or more of the following: 

22 (1) A Silk Road Advisory Board, which would 

23 include experts with the necessary contacts and ex24 pertise in the region in sectors such as sustainable 

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1 ergy transportation infrastructure planning and con2 struction, democratic development, banking, finance, 

3 and legal reform. 

4 (2) A specialized private sector energy 

5 consultancy, tasked with coordinating business com6 munity projects and promoting investment opportu7 nities in trade as well as infrastructure for the pro8 duction, transportation, and refining of energy and 

9 petrochemicals. 

10 (3) An annual conference of the sponsors and 

11 beneficiaries of assistance provided pursuant to this 

12 Act to be held in conjunction with the annual United 

13 Nations Economic Council of Europe (UNECE) En14 ergy Security Forum, which seeks to promote the se15 curity of energy supplies for all members of the Eco16 nomic Council of Europe through well-balanced net17 works of energy transportation infrastructure, im18 provements in sustainable energy technology and ef19 ficiency, and through the integration of legal stand20 ards for transparent energy extraction, transpor21 tation, and pricing. 

Æ 


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