The Global Gateway Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity opened today in Brussels, bringing together governments, financing institutions, businesses and civil society from Europe, Central Asia and beyond. European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis announced that European and international financial institutions present at the Forum will commit €10 billion in support and investments towards sustainable transport connectivity in Central Asia.
Over the next two days, participants will discuss the required investments to transform the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor into a cutting-edge, multimodal, and efficient route, connecting Europe and Central Asia within 15 days.
The €10 billion commitment is a mixture of ongoing and planned investments which, following extensive consultations with international partners present at the Forum, the European Commission foresees to be mobilised for sustainable transport development in Central Asia in the short term.
In concrete terms, several significant commitments are being made on the first day of the Forum as part of the overall €10 billion. These include:
The European Investment Bank (EIB), represented by its Vice President Teresa Czerwińska, signed Memoranda of Understanding totalling €1.47 billion with the Governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as well as the Development Bank of Kazakhstan. These loans will be made possible by guarantees provided by the European Commission.