(Adnkronos) – Corridor VIII, the infrastructure axis that will link the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea, is a “crucial strategic priority” for Italy, foreign minister Antonio Tajani told a press conference in Albania’s capital, Tirana on Wednesday.
The rail, road project that will also connect Italy’s ports of Brindisi and Bari to the Bulgarian ports of Burgas and Varna and involve Albania’s port of Durazzo “is vital for growth, trade and infrastructure, but it is also crucial for European defence,” said Tajani,.
Addressing the press conference hehld with his Albanian, Macedonian and Bulgarian counterparts, Tajani urged “an acceleration” Corridor VIII’s implementation.
‘We must work hard in this direction, not only because we need to do more, but because this is a strategic project to connect the Adriatic to the Black Sea in a positive way,” he said.
Corridor VIII can also aid the Western Balkans’ entry to the European Union and boost the supply of critical materials, Tajani underlined.
“It is a key political initiative to strengthen our cooperation and support the European integration of the region,” he said.
The infrastructure project will also play a “vital role in strengthening our supply chains and reducing strategic dependencies,” Tajani said.
Corridor VIII is also important in linking the region to other strategic logistics projects like the Imec (India-Middle East Economic Corridor) to connect India to Europe via the Middle East by sea and rail, Tajani noted.
“This (Imec) is a crucial highway for the wider Mediterranean, stretching from Europe to India and the dynamic Asian markets,” Tajani underlined.
Seen as a US alternative to China’s Belt and Road push on global infrastructure, Imec was unveiled on the sidelines of a G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023.
The Imec project stalled however after war broke out a month later in the Middle East following Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’ October 7 2023 attack on Israel.
