Reuters reports that the World Bank is ready to extend up to $200 million for projects that will boost transport and trade links between Western Balkans countries, its chief executive officer Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday.
“We are ready to fund a trade and transport project to help the countries of the region remove the obstacles that exist today,” Georgieva told a high-level economic forum held in Sofia.
The World Bank’s support plans to streamline border crossings in the region, improve the efficiency of logistics services and deploy cutting edge technologies to improve freight and passenger transport and get goods to customers faster.
“We estimate the benefits to be in the order of $1 billion per year – an important contribution to regional efforts to boost growth and create jobs and opportunities for more people,” Georgieva noted in a statement.
At a joint news conference Balkan leaders, including the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia and Albania, the presidents of Kosovo and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s foreign trade minister, agreed on steps towards deeper integration in the Western Balkans and pledged to boost.
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Source: Reuters
