https://arab.news/cc23v
A study commissioned by the EU, which was published last week, focused on what investments and infrastructure projects are needed to better connect Europe to Central Asian markets via the South Caucasus. The study, titled “Advancing a Cross-Regional Connectivity Agenda with Central Asia, Turkiye and the South Caucasus,” said all the right things about the need to invest in and update infrastructure that is often outdated.
But this has all been heard before. At the same time the report was released, US Vice President J.D. Vance was on the ground in Armenia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus, discussing, among other things, a new transit route and economic connections that will be led and part financed by the US, as well as the next steps of the peace agreement and diplomatic normalization between Yerevan and Baku. This juxtaposition is a metaphor for Washington and Brussels’ engagement in the region in recent years: another report and strategy document from Brussels and an on-the-ground presence by the US.
The South Caucasus should be a strategic priority for the EU, especially in the current geopolitical climate. The region serves as a key source of energy resources at a time when Europe is trying to diversify away from Russian oil and gas. In the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe turned to Azerbaijan for more energy and even signed an agreement that would see energy resources from Azerbaijan to Europe double by next year.
