BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 19. The Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) is ready to support new projects to be presented from Azerbaijan, Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of MCDF, Ayumi Konishi, told Trend on the sidelines of the 51st Annual Meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group held in Baku.
According to him, Azerbaijan plays an important role in the development of regional cooperation as an important connecting country connecting Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
"We are already supporting Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea Green Energy Corridor project. Overall, I believe that Azerbaijan's role is extremely important. The country is one of the main bridges connecting Europe with the Caucasus and Central Asia. Azerbaijan's contribution to the development of this cooperation is clearly visible," he said.
Konishi noted that MCDF hopes that Azerbaijan will continue to play an active role in the development of the Middle Corridor, which strengthens the connection between Europe and Asia.
"We have already allocated a grant of $1.05 million to finance feasibility studies related to the development of the Caspian Sea Green Energy Corridor. At the same time, we are ready to consider and support new projects that will be submitted from Azerbaijan," he emphasized.
According to the senior advisor, the main direction of MCDF's activity is to promote the development of high-quality connecting infrastructure.
"Our priority areas are transport and trade facilitation, energy, water resources management, and digital connectivity. In the energy sector, we already support the Caspian Green Energy Corridor project. In addition, if Azerbaijan wants to cooperate with other countries on issues such as protecting the water quality of the Caspian Sea, we can work together in this direction," said Konishi.
He added that there is great potential for expanding cooperation between MCDF and Azerbaijan in each of the above four areas.
