Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Anna Natova participated in the high-level meeting on the development of the Middle Corridor, which took place today in Brussels. During the event, our country presented its vision for the strategic role of the Black Sea ports as “gateways” of Europe to the Middle Corridor. The meeting was opened by Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos. It was also attended by the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Zidzikostas, as well as ministers and deputy ministers of transport of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan, etc.
In her speech, Deputy Minister Natova emphasized the geostrategic role of Bulgaria as an EU member state with access to the Black Sea and emphasized the need to ensure faster, safer and more unhindered transport of goods and passengers along the route. She pointed out that the modernization of ports and their integrated development with rail transport will increase the efficiency and competitiveness of the entire transport corridor. “The development of the Middle Corridor for Bulgaria is a strategic opportunity, but also a shared responsibility“, she added.
In front of the European partners and representatives of the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus, Deputy Minister Natova noted that accelerated investments, better institutional coordination and enhanced cross-border cooperation are necessary to achieve full operationality of the route. She paid special attention to the partnership between the public sector and business as a key factor in securing financial resources and implementing innovative logistics solutions.