BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 24. Kyrgyz Minister of Economy and Commerce Bakyt Sydykov has stressed the need to attract private capital and international financing for the development of regional transport infrastructure.
He made the remarks during the seventh annual Caspian Business Forum held by the Caspian Policy Center (CPC) in New York.
According to Bakyt Sydykov, the infrastructure needed for the Middle Corridor requires significant capital, making the participation of governments alone insufficient.
"We therefore need to create projects that are attractive to international financial institutions, export credit agencies, sovereign funds, and private investors," he said.
Bakyt Sydykov also noted that new transport links should generate economic value and form part of an integrated regional logistics system, citing TRIPP, the Trans-Caspian route and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway among the projects that should complement each other.
Meanwhile, the development of regional transport corridors is expected to strengthen connectivity between Central Asia and international markets, while creating new opportunities for trade and investment.
The Middle Corridor, as well as other emerging routes, involves infrastructure projects across multiple countries and requires coordination among governments, financial institutions and private-sector participants.
Against this backdrop, attracting diversified sources of financing remains an important factor in advancing large-scale regional infrastructure projects.
