Secretary General Franco Dal Mas, today welcomed to the Executive Secretariat Kaush Arha, President of the Indo-Pacific Forum and President of the Advisory Board of the Trieste Summit Association, accompanied by Francesco Parisi, President of the Trieste Summit, and Alberto Pasino.
The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on respective priorities within the framework of IMEC (India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor), with particular focus on the role of Trieste as a geopolitical and strategic hub connecting Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
Secretary General Dal Mas stressed the CEI’s commitment to supporting the IMEC project by promoting dialogue within the CEI Region, as also demonstrated in recent meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Serbia and Bulgaria. Connectivity, a longstanding core priority of the CEI, is embodied in two strategic elements for regional and area-wide integration: the WBEM Corridor (Western Balkans – Eastern Mediterranean) and the rehabilitation of the Trieste–Ljubljana–Zagreb–Belgrade railway line.
In this context, the integration of connectivity across the Balkans and Central Europe represents a concrete testing ground for the implementation of the TEN-T networks.
Kaush Arha underlined the importance of establishing solid and mutually beneficial linkages at both infrastructural and economic levels, involving strategic countries such as those in the Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe, where the CEI is actively engaged.
Both sides expressed their readiness to strengthen cooperation, also in view of an upcoming initiative to be held in Trieste, announced by the Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani.