In Tashkent (Uzbekistan), as part of the 3rd EU-Central Asia Economic Forum on Wednesday 26 November and the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor and Connectivity Investors Forum on Thursday 27 November, the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, stated that “strengthening ties with Central Asia” remained one of the EU’s main priorities.
In a speech, he pointed out that by 2024, international financial institutions, including the EIB and the Asian Development Bank, had pledged to mobilise €10 billion in transport-related investment.
“Today, around a quarter of this sum, i.e. €2.5 billion, has already been committed to carrying out transport projects”, he acknowledged.
The day before, Jamshid Khodjaev, Uzbekistan’s deputy prime minister responsible for investment and foreign economic relations, expressed his delight that in 2024, freight volume increased by 63% to more than 4 million tonnes. He stressed that this was “clear proof of the speed with which this corridor [the Trans-Caspian, linking Central Asia and Europe, ed.] is developing”.
Mr Sikela pointed out that this corridor “does not stop at the Caspian Sea”, and that closer cooperation with the Black Sea region “would deepen links with Europe and promote wider economic integration”.
At the Economic Forum, the EU announced a €12 billion investment package for Central Asia as part of the ‘Global Gateway’ investment strategy to support the corridor, but also investments in key raw materials, green energy and digital connectivity. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)