BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 18. The European Investment Bank (EIB) envisages extending its local presence in the region to be better equipped to support priority investments in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries, a source at the EIB told Trend.
"However, for the time being, the EIB has not decided where and when such an EIB representation in Central Asia will be established," the source noted.
As the source noted, in Kazakhstan, as well as in other Central Asian countries, the EIB is actively supporting the EU’s priorities both in the public and private sectors, as set out in the 2019 EU Strategy on Central Asia and more recently in line with the EU Global Gateway strategy.
"EIB co-finances with other financial institutions such as the World Bank, EBRD, and KfW. The EIB also finances green projects. EIB’s interventions on climate action are generally focused on: (i) supporting green infrastructure projects (energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy transmission, water supply, and sanitation) as well as (ii) improving the access to finance of local SMEs," the source added.
Meanwhile, the bank’s operations in Kazakhstan started in 2013. To date, a total of four loans have been signed for 269.5 million euros.
Edvardas Bumteinas, the head of Asia and Pacific Division at EIB, previously stated that EIB is also interested in supporting projects related to developing transport infrastructure in Kazakhstan. In this regard, Bumteinas noted the importance of developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor (TITR, or Middle Corridor), which, in his opinion, will become an additional tool for strengthening regional infrastructure between Europe and Asia.
Furthermore, the EIB is currently active in four Central Asian countries: Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and most recently, Uzbekistan.