Effective March 2, 2008, the Bureau for Asia and the Near East (ANE) has been divided into two separate, regional bureaus: the Asia Bureau and the Middle East Bureau.  These two bureaus have been created in order to enhance oversight and strengthen inter-agency coordination for USAID programs in these regions.The countries in each regional bureau are listed below.  The Central Asian Republics, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which were previously grouped in USAID’s Europe & Eurasia Bureau, have been relocated to the Asia Bureau. This move will further promote greater integration between the South and Central Asia regions, create new North-South linkages and promote closer regional ties of economic, security and democratic nature.