Name: New investments push Trans-Caspian Corridor into its next phase
Uploaded: 2025-12-01T16:45:11.759Z
Duration: 2 min 59 s
Description: At the Tashkent Investors Forum, officials detailed new rail, port, and digital upgrades, stressing that coordinated reforms and harmonised border systems are essential for scaling the corridor.

At the Tashkent Investors Forum, officials detailed new rail, port, and digital upgrades, stressing that coordinated reforms and harmonised border systems are essential for scaling the corridor.

Tashkent

A series of new infrastructure investments and policy reforms have been announced to advance the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, which connects Europe with the South Caucasus and Central Asia. At a recent forum in Tashkent, governments, investors, and international lenders outlined plans to modernize transport systems, enhance digitalization, and improve logistics along the corridor.

The European Union and its partners have committed significant funding, including 15 million euros for trade facilitation and customs reforms, and 5 million euros for technical work on low-carbon transport. Additional support will strengthen public finance systems in 21 countries. The initiative aims to triple corridor capacity by 2030 and increase it fivefold by 2040, fostering sustainable trade and economic growth.

New investments push Trans-Caspian Corridor into its next phase

A new set of infrastructure commitments is set to accelerate development of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, the route linking Europe with the South Caucasus and Central Asia. The corridor has become one of the fastest-growing alternatives to traditional East-West trade routes while reducing dependence on vulnerable or politically risky routes. During the Trans-Caspian Corridor and Connectivity Investors Forum that took place in Tashkent, governments, investors and international lenders gathered to push the project into its next phase. This is important for the European Union because we need new partnerships and we also are seeking for new business opportunities for our companies on the field of trade, energy and transport. There are many, many possibilities. This new route which we will establish could really, really raise up all the economy growth, the trade between Europe and Central Asia. The European Commission says investment must be matched with reforms. Brussels wants fast digital systems, modern logistics hubs and predictable border procedures. The Trans-Caspian Corridor can become one of the global major infrastructure projects worldwide and if we are successful means in properly investing in the transport connectivity in the roads, then we can triple it until 2030 and we can increase it five times until 2040. The EU and its partners announced a series of transport, energy and governance investments to strengthen the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor. This includes 15 million euros for trade facilitation, customs reforms and 5 million euros in additional EBRD-backed technical work focused on low-carbon transport. We are modernizing our infrastructure, building new corridors, liberalizing our policies, synchronizing our digital systems and platforms where all of the participants are speaking in one language so that we have very fast friendly time, sustainable as well as affordable transport services. Beyond transport, the EU will provide 1 million euros to strengthen public finance systems across 21 countries. For policymakers and investors, the priority is clear – move from discussion to real implementation of the Trans-Caspian Corridor. Marta Kos stresses that investment depends on reforms – from fast digitalization to stronger roads, modern logistics hubs and more capacity in ports and rail. For the EU, this corridor is part of a broader effort to reconnect Europe and Central Asia through reliable, sustainable infrastructure that can open new opportunities for trade and investment.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Monday that Andrew Wolfe, the second National Guardsman shot in Washington, D.C., last week, has woken up from an induced coma.

Washington

National Guardsman injured in shooting has woken up from coma

Lawmakers are questioning the massive mobilization in the Caribbean as President Trump announced airlines and pilots should consider "the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety." It comes amid new controversy over the strikes on suspected Venezuelan drug boats that has some lawmakers raising questions over whether the Pentagon committed a war crime.

Caracas

Pentagon 'may have' committed war crime amid questions over drug boats

Steve Witkoff, one of President Trump's key envoys helping negotiate a peace proposal between Russia and Ukraine, is set to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the Kremlin says. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio reports.

Moscow

Trump envoy set to meet with Putin in Moscow, Russia confirms

Russian missiles and drones continue to hit Ukrainian cities even as U.S. negotiators try to broker a deal between the two countries. Some Ukrainians have expressed anger over President Trump's original peace plan put forward last month, saying it does not guarantee their safety.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Ukrainians express anger over Trump peace proposal as strikes continue

Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last December, is set to appear in court for hearings on evidence for his upcoming trial. CBS News' Katrina Kaufman reports.

New York

Luigi Mangione headed to court on what evidence should be allowed

Thousands rallied outside President Isaac Herzog’s residence in Tel Aviv, urging him to reject a pardon request from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces fraud charges. Demonstrators held signs demanding accountability and warned that approval could undermine justice in Israel.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Protests in Tel Aviv after Netanyahu seeks pardon in fraud cases

The Ukrainian delegation met with U.S. officials in Miami on Sunday ahead of scheduled talks between the U.S. and Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, later this week.

Miami

Rubio calls U.S.-Ukraine talks productive but says more work ahead

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted a formal pardon request in his long-running corruption cases to the Israeli president. Herzog says he will "sincerely consider the request."

Netanyahu asks president to grant him pardon from corruption charges

Two men and two women from the Paris region have been taken into custody in connection with the theft at the Louvre last month, prosecutors said.

Paris

Four more suspects arrested over Louvre jewelery heist

Entire areas of Sri Lanka's capital were flooded on Sunday after a powerful cyclone triggered heavy rains and mudslides across the island, with authorities reporting nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing.

Colombo

Sri Lanka reels from Cyclone Ditwah as death toll nears 200

Top Trump administration officials are meeting Ukrainian negotiators in Florida this weekend, pushing to broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

Florida

Rubio and Witkoff to meet with Ukraine's negotiators in Florida

President Trump intensified his pressure campaign on Venezuela on Saturday. He posted that the airspace around the country is "closed in its entirety." It comes amid growing pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to step down.

Trump declares Venezuela's airspace closed

Negotiators for Ukraine are headed to Florida for further peace talks with Trump administration officials. The visit comes amid new deadly air assaults across Ukraine.

Deadly Russian air assaults hit Ukraine amid peace talks

Approximately 24 million people across the U.S. are under winter storm alerts. Dave Malkoff and Andrew Kozak have the details on this holiday weekend's forecast and the impact.

Chicago

Major storm blasts Midwest, impacting holiday travel

Ukraine’s security services say that domestically made naval drones struck two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, involving vessels described as part of Russia’s “shadow fleet.”

Ukraine strikes Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea

From Rome to Berlin, from São Paulo to Istanbul: the demonstration in the Italian capital, led by Global Movement to Gaza, reflects a global protest for Gaza, with thousands of people united in solidarity and justice

Rome

Thunberg joins pro-Palestine march in Rome

US President Donald Trump has said the airspace above Venezuela is to be closed. With a US task force already in the Caribbean, land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers could soon begin.

US military threat fuels fear and uncertainty in Venezuela

More than 150 people have been killed as Cyclone Ditwah has been battering Sri Lanka with torrential rains that triggered flooding and landslides. Authorities declared a state of emergency.

Cyclone Ditwah pounds Sri Lanka with deadly force

Investigators in Hong Kong are gathering evidence at the site of the apartment block fire that killed at least 128 people. At least 150 are missing, and 11 people involved in the renovation of the complex have been arrested.

Tsim Sha Tsui

Hong Kong apartment fire survivors share how they escaped

United States President Donald Trump has said the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed “in its entirety”, as tensions between the countries escalate. There was no immediate response by Venezuela to Trump’s social media post on Saturday.

Trump says Venezuela airspace to be shut as tensions rise

Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul's historic Blue Mosque, officially known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, as part of his trip to Turkey.

Istanbul

Pope Leo XIV visits Istanbul's iconic Blue Mosque on Turkey trip

The Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members will face first-degree murder charges for an attack that prompted President Donald Trump to declare he would freeze migration from "Third World Countries" to the U.S.

National Guard shooting suspect to face murder charges

President Trump announced Thursday that he would "permanently pause" immigration from "Third-World Countries." The declaration comes as the Trump administration takes aim at U.S. immigration policies in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.

Trump says he plans to end immigration from "Third-World Countries"

Europe's Airbus says it is ordering immediate repairs to 6,000 of its widely-used A320 family of jets in a sweeping recall affecting more than half the global fleet, threatening upheaval during the busiest travel weekend of the year in the United States.

Leiden

Airbus issues major A320 recall, threatening holiday travel

Hong Kong firefighters found dozens more bodies in an intensive search of a high-rise complex where a massive fire engulfed seven buildings, bringing the death toll to 128 with many more unaccounted for. Authorities arrested another eight people involved in the towers' renovation.

Hong Kong Island

More arrests made in Hong Kong as fire's death toll rises to 128

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's powerful chief of staff, a close ally of the president who has headed Ukraine's negotiation team at fraught U.S.-backed peace talks, quit on Friday (November 28), after anti-corruption agents searched his home.

Ukraine's top peace negotiator quits after raid by anti-graft police

At least thirteen people were killed in an Israeli raid in southern Syria, Syrian state media reported, with Damascus accusing Israel of a "criminal attack" in a village where Israel said its troops came under fire during an operation to arrest militants.

Damascus

Middle East Conflict

Israel launches deadly raid on southern Syria, Syrian media reports

The Department of Homeland Security says the agency is reviewing all asylum cases approved under the Biden administration in wake of Wednesday's attack on National Guard members in Washington, D.C.

Trump admin orders review of approved Biden-era asylum cases

Two Palestinian men were shot dead during an Israeli raid in Jenin on Thursday moments after appearing to surrender, prompting condemnations as footage of the incident sparked widespread outrage.

Jerusalem

Israel forces kill two Palestinians seen surrendering in West Bank

One of the U.S. National Guard members ambushed in Washington, D.C., has died, President Trump announced Thursday. CBS News' Kamal Afzali reports.

Breakdown