Thanks to a modicum of peace and a couple of agreements, countries that were once blood stained battlefields have now become conduits for pipelines that will carry vast quantities of oil and gas.

A good example is a recent agreement signed in the Turkmenistan, which will pave the way for construction of a gas pipeline from the Central Asian republic through Afghanistan to Pakistan.

With improved regional security after the fall of the notorious Taliban regime in Afghanistan about a year ago, Turkmenistan and Pakistan have decided to push ahead with plans for the ambitious 1,500km long gas pipeline.

The leaders of the three countries have now signed a framework agreement defining the legal aspects of setting up a consortium to build and operate the pipeline. The pipeline would represent the first major foreign investment in Afghanistan in many years.

Another good example is the recent agreement signed by the governments of Belarus, Croatia, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine on a 10-year accord to integrate the Druzhba and Adria oil-pipeline networks.

The integrated pipeline will transport Russian oil to the Croatian deep-water port of Omisalj, allowing Russia for the first time to export to the giant US market via the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas.

Initial transport volume will be 5 million tons of oil per year with a transport tariff of $US64c per ton per 100 km. Transport volume will eventually increase to 15 million tons per year.

The agreement represents a major triumph for the Croatian government in its bid to gain investor confidence after many years in the political and economic wilderness.

In 1991, Croatia declared its independence, which in turn sparked a Serbian invasion, resulting in a bloody Balkan battle for supremacy that cost thousands of lives.