At the Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity, which opened on Monday 29 January in Brussels at the Global Gateway (see EUROPE 13280/6), the European Commission announced that European and international financial institutions will commit to supporting and investing €10 billion in sustainable transport connectivity in Central Asia.
“Together, we strive to achieve a faster, more reliable connection between Europe and Central Asia, fostering stronger ties and opening new avenues for cooperation and trade”, said Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission.
Modernising the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor
This commitment encompasses a mix of ongoing and planned investments that are expected to be mobilised in the short term by the Commission for the Sustainable Development of Transport in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (see EUROPE 13330/32).
The various parties therefore discussed the investments needed to transform the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor into an “ultramodern, multimodal and efficient” route, which would make it possible to link Europe and Central Asia in 15 days, as indicated by the European Commission.
On this subject, Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev told the opening session of the Investors Forum that his country’s exports to the EU market had almost doubled, and that the future development of trade was “unthinkable without a well-established transport route and logistics supported by modern infrastructure”.
Alternative trade routes
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also underlined the urgent need to find other reliable and efficient trade routes between Europe and Asia, as pointed out by the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, who also spoke at the start of the Forum.
He stressed the importance of investing in physical connections to overcome past dependencies and find new alternatives for transport, energy and supply chains. “This will breathe new life into the old Silk Road, linking it to our partners in Turkey and the South Caucasus”, he added.
He also returned to the subject of circumventing sanctions against Russia, despite the fact that the EU renewed its economic sanctions against the country on the same day (see other news).
“We are closely monitoring trade between ourselves, between the countries of Central Asia and with Russia. We are trying to analyse the mechanisms by which sanctions can be circumvented. We need to strengthen our cooperation in this area”, he declared.
The Belgian Minister for Mobility, Georges Gilkinet, explained that one of the priorities of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU was to “improve connectivity between the EU and Ukraine” and “strengthen the EU’s connectivity with Georgia and Moldova, which are located at the gateway to Central Asia, but also with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey”.
He also pointed out that Belgium and the EU were committed to creating the conditions for peace throughout the world, and that the new transport routes mentioned were essential, “particularly for the critical raw materials needed to accelerate the ecological transition”.
Initial financial commitments
The first day of the Forum was therefore marked by a number of commitments included in the €10 billion announced.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed memorandums of understanding totalling €1.47 billion with the governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as with the Development Bank of Kazakhstan. These loans will be made possible by guarantees provided by the European Commission.
In addition, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kazakhstan, with an investment pipeline worth €1.5 billion for projects already planned for the overall development of transport connectivity in the Central Asian region. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani and Pauline Denys)