Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 29 / Trend A.Badalova /
The investment opportunities for the projects in member states of the TRACECA programme were discussed during a conference hosted by the European Commission.
The TRACECA Investment Forum 2012 was held this week with the aim to attract investments into transport infrastructure between the EU and Central Asia, ENPI Info Center reported.
The high-level conference was attended by the representatives from the international donor community and TRACECA countries. The conference participants discussed potential funding opportunities for priority projects in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine among others.
During the forum twelve projects were presented to potential donors and investors interested in logistic centres as well as road, rail, maritime and aviation transport.
European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, Štefan Füle said that an efficient transport system is the backbone of effective regional integration.
"Our Eastern neighbours, who link the Black and the Caspian Seas to China and beyond, could benefit from stronger transport infrastructure and services, in order to help them reach their full potential in their economic and trade relations with the EU," he said.
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.
Up to now, the EU has supported this programme with technical assistance of almost €170 million for 80 projects.