VOA常速英语2013--一体化对中亚繁荣的重要性（在线收听）

一体化对中亚繁荣的重要性

In an increasingly connected global economy, regional integration and cooperation is crucial to long-term prosperity. That is why twelve years ago, in an effort to realize their enormous but largely untapped potential, ten Central Asian countries-- Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan; and six multilateral institutions formed the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation, or CAREC.

在联系日益紧密的全球经济中，地区一体化和合作对长期繁荣来说至关重要。因此12年前，为了挖掘其巨大且大多尚未开发的潜力，10个中亚国家：阿富汗、阿塞拜疆、中国、卡萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、盟国、巴基斯坦、塔吉克斯坦、土库曼斯坦和乌兹别克斯坦，以及六个多边组织组建了中亚地区经济合作(CAREC)。

Speaking at the 12th CAREC anniversary meeting which took place in Astana, Kazakhstan in late October, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Fatema Sumar said that CAREC member countries can lay the groundwork for regional economic connectivity. Cooperation is particularly important this year, because 2014 will be a significant year for CAREC, as the Central Asian region will face new challenges once NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan.

在10月底哈萨克斯坦阿斯坦纳举行的第12届CAREC年度会议上，中亚及南亚事务副助理国务卿Fatema Sumar说CAREC成员国将为地区经济关系奠定基础。今年合作是尤其重要的，因为2014年对CAREC将是至为重要的一年，因为一旦北约军队从阿富汗撤出，中亚地区将面临新的挑战。

“The United States is committed to the New Silk Road vision and the CAREC framework,” she said. “We have already invested significant resources and political capital in helping link Afghanistan to her neighbors.”

“美国致力于新丝绸之路的设想和CAREC的框架，我们已经投资了相当多的资源和政治资本，来帮助阿富汗与邻国的联系。”

This includes 2 billion dollars of energy transmission lines, hydropower plants and more than 3,000 kilometers of new and rehabilitated roads. The United States helped Afghanistan accede to the International Road Transport system, which allows Afghan trucks to transit through South Central Asia and beyond.

其中包括20亿美元的能源输送管道、水电站和3000多公里的新道路和翻新的道路。美国帮助阿富汗进入国际道路交通系统，使得阿富汗的卡车能穿过中南亚等地。

Thanks to the collective efforts of CAREC and the United States, Afghanistan now trades more with countries in South and Central Asia than the rest of the world, said Deputy Assistant Secretary Sumar. “Our collective goal is to bring down the costs of doing business in the region as well as reduce other barriers to transit and trade,” she said.

多亏了CAREC和美国的合作，与世界其他国家相比，阿富汗现在能与更多的中南亚国家进行贸易，副助理国务卿Sumar说。“我们的共同目标是降低该地区做生意的成本，并降低过境和贸易的障碍。”

“CAREC works because the countries of greater Central Asia themselves drive the vision on how best to cooperate. . . . Now, more than ever, we need to work together to lay the foundation for economic transformation in the [Central Asian] region,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Sumar.

“CAREC能见效，是因为越来越多的中亚国家构建了如何更好地合作的愿景，现在我们比以往任何时候都更需要协力为该地区的经济转型奠定基础，”副助理国务卿Sumar说。

“There is much more to do, and we want to do it together through successful platforms like CAREC.”

“要有很多事要做，我们希望通过诸如CAREC这样的成功平台协力而为。