BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 30. The EU has assigned senior resident twinning advisors to all Central Asian countries to monitor progress in the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission, said, Trend reports.
He made the remark during a closing ceremony for the Global Gateway Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity held in Brussels.
"We also export opportunities for the so-called soft investments, through twinning and technical assistance. To support these efforts, senior resident twinning advisors from our EU member states will be assigned to all Central Asian countries. We have launched the coordination platform. Through this platform, we will regularly monitor progress, enhance cooperation, and ensure that the development of the TITR is always on track," he said.
The VP added that, today, Central Asia emerges as an anchor of stability today.
"All five countries contribute to this. Connectivity is just the beginning of a beneficial partnership between the EU and Central Asia. We aim not only to improve infrastructure but also to implement a new, sustainable outreach and cooperative approach involving value chains, border-crossing processes, better environmental outcomes, and, ultimately, resilience. We have a new 50 million euro regional transport program that will provide practical assistance to advance existing and future transport projects. This will contribute to a total of 1.5 billion euros allocated by the EU Commission and EIB to progress the transport infrastructure agenda in the region. Multiple investment agreements have been signed within this forum. All these commitments together constitute an impressive 10 billion euro financial package. This is real money for real projects," Margaritis Schinas said.