On 8 December, representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport of the Republic of Bulgaria, non-governmental organisations and transport companies, gathered in Brussels to attend the Expert Panel “An Integrated Concept of Connectivity for the CEI Region".
The event - organised under the Bulgarian CEI Presidency in the framework of its priority on "Improving the connectivity of the CEI region" - was attended, in particular, by Mr. Stanislav Todorov, CEI National Coordinator and Chairman of the CEI Committee of National Coordinators, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Bulgaria; the Director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community, Mr. Matej Zakonjšek; the Deputy Director of the Central European Free Trade Agreement Secretariat - CEFTA Secretariat, Ms. Danijela Gacevic.
The CEI- Executive Secretariat (CEI-ES) was represented by Project Manager, Mr. Paolo Dileno, who Illustrated the concrete actions and projects realised by the CEI-ES regarding transport facilitation and the improvement of maritime-hinterland connectivity in the Western Balkans (WBs) and between the WBs and the EU, i.e.: analysis of physical and non-physical barriers affecting freight transport in the WBs; upgrading of the port community systems in the ports of Bar, Ploce and Koper and supporting the port of Durres in defining the technical requirements for developing their ICT platform; establishment of a cooperation network to improve multimodal transport in the region thanks to the recently adopted Strategy for the Enhancement of Multimodal Transport and Accessibility in the Adriatic Ionian region under the CEI-led EU Project ADRIPASS/ADRIPASS-PLUS.
During the discussions, participants also had the chance to examine how connectivity acts as a tool to unlock the potential of interconnected production networks and supply chains; how it contributes to the better economic development of the region and provides opportunities to alleviate the difficulties caused by the disruption of transport corridors and trade relations due to the war against Ukraine; they supported the idea of adopting an integrated regional approach to connectivity and under the incoming Moldovan CEI Presidency 2023, actions will continue in this direction.
This Panel was organised by the CEI in cooperation with the Transport Community Permanent Secretariat.
For more info: dileno@cei.int
