Topolánek: Southern Corridor should be modern Silk Road

Source: Tsjechisch voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2009 i, published on Friday, May 8 2009.

A summit of the European Union and the Southern Corridor countries started in Prague today.

In addition to the highest representatives of the Czech Presidency and the European Commission, the summit is attended by representatives of Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Observers from the USA, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development also arrived in Prague to attend the summit.

"The Southern Corridor should not be a one-way road to transport energy feedstock from the Caspian region to Europe", declared President of the European Council Mirek Topolánek i, "but a two-way highway for the exchange of goods, investments, knowledge and people – a modern Silk Road of sorts". According to Mirek Topolánek, such a corridor could be ushered in by the Nabucco gas pipeline, for instance.

During the summit, President of the European Council Mirek Topolánek, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso i, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Turkey Abdullah Gül i and Egyptian Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy signed a joint declaration that should pave the way for a more intensive cooperation between regions and also between individual states.

The signing was further attended by the representatives of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan who expressed their support for the Southern Corridor project and agreed to the specific inclusion of their countries in the declaration.

 




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