29 January 2024
Over the two days of the Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity, participants discussed 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.
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 mobilised for sustainable transport development in Central Asia in the short term.
In concrete terms, several significant commitments were 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 Memoranda of Understanding totalling €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.
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.
Among other important announcements made on Monday 29th January, Kazakhstan offered its Caspian Sea ports of Aktau and Kuryk, as well as 22 airports, to European investors for management to build a strong transit hub between Asia and Europe.