Harmonizing procedures and addressing potential bottlenecks in advance are critical to improving regional connectivity, Natalia Mouravidze, head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) office in Azerbaijan, said at the EU-Azerbaijan Business Forum in Baku.
The EBRD representative emphasized that assessing transit times, cargo volumes, and the resilience of logistics corridors is closely aligned with the broader reform agenda promoted by international financial institutions.
“Harmonizing these procedures in Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan is extremely important to us. In many cases, it is even more important to start this work early rather than wait until bottlenecks have already developed,” Mouravidze said.
As an example of effective cooperation, she cited joint work with the European Union on policy development, including an ongoing analytical study of the Nakhchivan railway reconstruction project.
“The project is expected to provide a comprehensive assessment of the proposed transport link and how it would fit into the broader regional connectivity network,” the head of the EBRD office added.