Via Carpatia: opportunity for CEE region's development
Xinhua, March 4, 2016 Adjust font size:
The representatives of countries interested in construction of Via Carpatia held a meeting here on Thursday.
Via Carpatia, an infrastructure project of a transport corridor leading through Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), is seen as a development chance for the region.
Representatives of Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania participated in the meeting. The planned Via Carpatia route is supposed to lead through the territories of these countries, starting from Lithuania and Poland and going straight to Greece. Branch roads are to be built towards Ukraine and Belarus, as well as towards Polish harbors.
Polish Minister of Infrastructure and Development, Andrzej Adamczyk, said after the meeting that Via Carpatia project was a route of life and development for the CEE region countries, an important communication route. He underlined that the meeting aimed at taking further steps in order to implement this initiative.
"It is an undeniable fact that creation of Via Carpatia trail fits in with the progressing economic, social and territorial cohesion of Europe. I am sure of its important positive value for the whole Europe, especially for its central and eastern part, a deepened cooperation within the Carpathians region, in which the Via Carpatia trail will lead a decisive road and will be a lever of development," Adamczyk said.
It was also underlined during the meeting that the Via Carpatia's importance was crucial not only for Poland and CEE region, but also for the Baltic countries: Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, as well as the Balkan countries, Turkey and Middle East countries.
Poland Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Development Jerzy Kwiecinski added that "this trail will influence the development not only through communication availability, but it will also cause scientific and economic cooperation, development of agriculture and tourism... It will be a development axis leading from eastern border of the EU as far as to Turkey and Iran." Endit