On April 10, 2002 USAID and the Pragma Corporation launched a new service, Regional Trade Promotion, in Turkmenistan. In attendance were the US ambassador to Turkmenistan, USAID executives, representatives of international companies, local training providers and the heads of SME's.

The launch took place at the office of the Pragma Corporation. During the introductory presentation, the guests had an opportunity to learn about Pragma's activities in Central Asia and in Turkmenistan in particular. US ambassador to Turkmenistan, Ms Laura Kennedy, explained to those present the concept of e-commerce and the wide use and utility of this type of service. Ambassador Kennedy emphasized the great importance this network will have in promoting business between the countries of Central Asia, Russia and the Ukraine. After a visual presentation of smetradecenter.net, many entrepreneurs were interested in this new service and how they could benefit from it. The heads of SME's emphasized the importance and timeliness of this service. The representatives of each SME made a small introduction of their company. Ambassador Kennedy was presented souvenirs from several companies.