BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 10. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is set to deepen its presence in Central Asia with the opening of a regional office in Uzbekistan, following the signing of a host country agreement during the Samarkand Summit, EIB Senior Loan Officer Davide Monguzzi announced at the IV Tashkent International Investment Forum, Trend reports.
"The positive experience we had in Uzbekistan at the Samarkand Summit—where, I would say, finally the European Investment Bank signed a host country agreement with the government of Uzbekistan—will enable us to open an office sooner rather than later," Monguzzi said during the panel titled 'EU-Central Asia Partnership: The Road from the Samarkand Summit'.
The new office, expected to open later this year, will serve as a regional representation of the EIB, hosted by the EU Delegation, as is common practice in other geographies. "We show how Team Europe can work together. In fact, the European Investment Bank is the financial arm of the European Union, and we are very happy to be here to scale up our investment," Monguzzi added.
Although the EIB has been active in Central Asia for over a decade, Monguzzi noted that "a major step up is happening" as the bank adopts a more strategic approach. "We would like to share our knowledge for what the European Investment Bank was created for in its inception—particularly large infrastructure projects that are cross-border," he said.
Highlighting the EIB’s legacy of supporting projects that no single country could finance alone, Monguzzi said, "When the European Investment Bank started this activity more than 65 years ago, we did projects that enabled the region to step up in terms of infrastructure. And now, after all these years, we would like to share our knowledge—not only in terms of infrastructure, but particularly in terms of sustainable infrastructure".
He emphasized the importance of addressing climate-related challenges and supporting long-term resilience. "When we talk about energy, we focus on renewable energies. And when we talk about water, we not only think about it in terms of energy production, but also in terms of energy security," he said. "More and more, climate change is showing us that events are becoming more unpredictable. What we would like to do at the European Investment Bank is to develop infrastructure that can endure time and also make sure that the region has a water management sustainability program".
Monguzzi also pointed to the EIB’s role in fostering cross-border cooperation in Europe, and its ambition to bring that experience to Central Asia. "We would like to do the same here, particularly with the Trans-Caspian corridor," he said. "Transport that is done in a sustainable way, with large infrastructure, but that can go beyond the border of one single country".