Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 27 / Trend A.Badalova /
Eighty projects have been implemented at a total cost of €168.5 million within the EU TRACECA programme, the Secretary General of the Permanent Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Commission TRACECA (PS IGC) Eduard Biryukov said in an interview with the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre.
Biryukov said that among these projects 66 are the technical assistance projects and 14 -investment ones. More than 40 percent of the budget has been allocated for the harmonization of the legal basis, the streamlining of the border-crossing procedures, the development of tariff policy, institutional strengthening, the capacity-building of managerial personnel and the development of transport infrastructure within the corridor.
"All this has created favourable conditions to attract large investments into the region," Biryukov said.
Biryukov said that the amount of investment in transport infrastructure in the TRACECA corridor has today exceeded €1 billion.
TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) is an international transport cooperation program between the EU and its Partner countries in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia. It has a permanent Secretariat in Baku, Azerbaijan. The cooperation framework covers the areas of maritime transport, aviation, road and rail, transport security and transport infrastructure.
Currently, TRACECA member states are Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Moldova, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine and Iran.
Talking about the challenges the programme is facing in its implementation, Biryukov said that an important problem is insufficient implementation of international agreements and conventions in the transport field.
"Today, there is still evidence of delays at some border crossing points. And we are all working together in order to improve the situation," he said.
Biryukov said that there are also many issues open for discussion and for joint solutions, from the harmonization and simplification of customs procedures to the elaboration of coordinated transport and tariff policies.