The Global Gateway Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity opened on January 29 in Brussels, bringing together governments, financing institutions, businesses and civil society from Europe, Central Asia and beyond.
At the meeting, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis announced that European and international financial institutions present at the Forum will commit €10 billion in support and investments towards sustainable transport connectivity in Central Asia.
The Forum participants will discuss the required investments to transform the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor into a cutting-edge, multimodal, and efficient route, connecting Europe and Central Asia within 15 days.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has underlined the urgency to find alternative reliable efficient trade routes between Europe and Asia that do not transit Russia. In addition to opening new possibilities for businesses, the development of transport connectivity is also a means to strengthen the regional integration and economic development of Central Asia. This is why the Investors Forum focuses on transport connections that comply with all aspects of sustainability, in line with the trusted connectivity principles of Global Gateway.
The €10 billion commitment is a mixture of ongoing and planned investments which, following extensive consultations with international partners present at the Forum, the European Commission foresees to be mobilized for sustainable transport development in Central Asia in the short term.
In concrete terms, several significant commitments are being made on the first day of the Forum as part of the overall €10 billion. These include:
The European Investment Bank (EIB), represented by its Vice President Teresa Czerwińska, signed a Memoranda of Understanding totaling €1.47 billion with the Governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as well as the Development Bank of Kazakhstan. These loans will be made possible by guarantees provided by the European Commission.
Also, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), represented by its Vice President Mark Bowman, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kazakhstan, with an investment pipeline worth €1.5 billion with projects already under preparation for the overall development of transport connectivity in the Central Asian region.
