ArmInfo.The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, to further enhance connectivity between Asia and Europe, via the South Caucasus.
According to a statement from the EBRD press office, the partnership will focus on expanding trade, green energy, investment in new industries, as well as transport and digital infrastructure in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
"Strengthening the Middle Corridor will create new, transformative economic opportunities across the region and provide an alternative transport route to existing commercial corridors.
"The MoU seeks to enhance the planning, design and construction of critical energy, transport, digital and agricultural infrastructure in the region. It also aims to: improve the efficiency of customs, tariff and border operations; attract private capital investment into the South Caucasus economies for the development of the Middle Corridor; and adopt the highest international standards to promote economic connectivity with Europe and among South Caucasus countries," the statement reads.
Other cooperation priorities focus on expanding investments in carbon-free energy opportunities and advancing policy and governance reforms to combat corruption and expand engagement with civil society.
The MoU was signed by EBRD Vice President, Banking, Matteo Patrone, and Erin Elizabeth McKee, Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia at USAID, on the margins of the EBRD's Annual Meeting and Business Forum taking place in Armenia.
In Armenia the EBRD focuses on: Developing the financial sector and improving access to finance.
The EBRD will focus on providing its traditional SME and micro-finance lines targeting areas outside Yerevan, the capital, and facilitating access to credit for SMEs in the rural areas. In rural areas, we will launch agricultural credit lines in local currency and associated Technical Cooperation (TC), in particular as the sector becomes more commercialised. The EBRD, in cooperation with the IMF and World Bank, will engage in policy dialogue and provide TC to strengthen the Central Bank's capacity to reduce inflation and dollarisation and develop local money and capital markets.
Improving municipal and urban transport infrastructure. The EBRD will support enhanced private sector participation in the water and waste water sectors to support the introduction of cost-reflective tariff structures, improve service availability and reduce losses. We will support through our investments urban and municipal transport reforms including the introduction of integrated transport management and ticketing systems, better parking management and regulation of feeder bus and minibus services.
Intensive policy dialogue will be required to support reforms at the central and local levels.To address affordability and debt capacity constraints, a high level of grant co-financing will be required along with gradual tariff increases toward cost recovery.
Developing agribusiness and high value-added, export-oriented industrial companies. The EBRD will help to address challenges in the industrial sectors through support for improvements to the business environment, strengthening corporate governance and increasing access to finance for local micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs). The EBRD will identify investments in industries with export potential, including in areas highlighted by the authorities' recent programme of export promotion. The EBRD will aim to support the agricultural sector by targeting investments along the whole value chain. Where possible, the EBRD will aim to utilise local currency financing. The EBRD will also enhance activities to support MSMEs in key sectors through provision of advisory services. Improving the regulatory and institutional framework for sustainable energy and increasing value-added in the mining sector. The EBRD will support investments in financially viable renewable energy projects and, through partner banks, continue to finance energy efficiency credit lines for industrial and residential users. The EBRD will support power generation, particularly new entrants and non-state participants, and will consider participating in regional electricity infrastructure projects that strengthen competition in the regional electricity market. The EBRD will support bankable mining operations with reputable investors who demonstrate high standards of environmental and social protection.
