Belgrade, 13 September 2021 (MIA) - Building a modern, digitalized rail network with direct express train connections between major cities in the region which will help establish better connectivity and provide a safer and more environmentally sustainable mode of transport for people and businesses in the Western Balkans was recognized as a key priority of the Dedication to Rail document, signed Monday by ministers in charge of transport in the Western Balkan region at the First Western Balkans Rail Summit, MIA reports from Belgrade. The event was organized by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). North Macedonia’s Minister of Transport and Communications Blagoj Bochvarski signed the document. “Regional transport minister have gathered in Belgrade to expressed readiness for joint approach towards railway modernization and development in region. Rail and road transport goes beyond our borders so we must work together to improve services, quality, safety and ensure environmental protection, one of the most important principles and the reason why we’re here today and why we continue working on improving this aspect of transport. We have to speed up activities at Corridor X and Corridor VIII. Construction works for the latter are expected to start at the beginning on 2022. A contractor has been chosen for the implementation of this EUR 200 million project, which marks the development of the eastern branch of Corridor VIII, the pan European corridor,” Minister Bochvarski said. According to him, Balkan countries have demonstrated that they can work together, without pressuring each other and enhance transport and environmental policies. Lilyana Pavlova, EIB Vice-President responsible for the Western Balkans, told the summit that the “EIB looks forward to rolling out the Economic and Investment Plan and helping our local partners to access the funds available. As a decades-long partner to the region and a lead financier of the railway, the EIB has invested over €5 billion in the transportation sector to date.” “As the world is turning to greener and more responsible modes of transport, and with finance available, there is now an unmissable opportunity for the Western Balkans to invest in their railways. Together with the European Union and the EIB, we are strongly committed to continuing to provide well-structured and affordable finance for the development of railways as a sustainable, greener and safer means of transport in the Western Balkans,” said Nandita Parshad, Managing Director of the Sustainable Infrastructure Group at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The summit was organized to coincide with the arrival of the Connecting Europe Express train. As part of the European Year of Rail, the train, which will cross 26 countries across the continent, arrived in Belgrade on 12 September and is expected to travel to Skopje on Monday evening.