Caspian Convention to enhance the investment flow to Central Asia and transit to Europe
The signing of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea can give a multiplier effect, will cause an increase in foreign direct investment not only in the Caspian region, but also in Central Asia, as well as will give impetus to the increase in transit traffic to Europe, analysts from Kazakhstan predict. According to Zhumabek Sarabekov, an expert of the Institute of World Economy and Politics under the Foundation of the First President of Kazakhstan, investors will be interested in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and neighboring countries, Kazakh-TV portal writes. In addition to the investment sphere, the Caspian Convention will have a positive impact on trade and economic cooperation in the Central Asian region, experts believe. In this regard, the Caspian cargo transit to the EU can bring real economic benefits. - The Convention, the agreements that were signed in Aktau, contribute to the development of transit opportunities of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and our neighbors in the region can take advantage of them to order to gain expanded access to European markets through the Caspian sea, Sarabekov says, noting that such transit is much faster, better and cheaper. Therefore, the entire region benefits from the signing of the Convention, because, firstly, the military and political stability of the Caspian Sea is ensured, secondly, new economic opportunities are available and thirdly, the Caspian transit region is activated, the expert concluded. It is worth to note that the transport and transit potential of the Caspian Sea have even wider scale, not limited to Central Asia. Thus, Jeon Seung Min, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Almaty, in his article published in "Delovoy Kazakhstan", wrote: “The Caspian sea attracts attention by its location on the new Silk road. Close interest is caused by the fact that the Caspian Sea has several advantages: the ability to save time in transit traffic from Japan, China and Korea to the European Union.”
