BSTDB President Highlights Regional Connectivity and Resilience at AIIB Annual Meeting
President Köksal highlights coordinated investment and MDB cooperation as key to strengthening the Middle Corridor and regional connectivity
Dr. Serhat Köksal, President of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), participated in the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Doha, contributing to discussions on strengthening cross-border connectivity and building more resilient regional infrastructure.
Speaking at the panel “Across Borders: Connecting Regions, Building Resilience,” President Köksal highlighted the strategic importance of the wider Black Sea region as an integral part of the Middle Corridor connecting Asia and Europe.
President Köksal highlighted that improving corridor reliability requires not only new infrastructure, but also better coordination, efficient border crossings, compatible systems and greater digitalization.
Referring to the Middle Corridor, he stressed that BSTDB, AIIB and other development institutions can combine their respective strengths to address cross-border bottlenecks and support complementary investments. Such cooperation should remain firmly anchored in national priorities, Dr. Köksal said, with governments setting the agenda and development partners bringing financing, expertise, project preparation and risk-mitigation tools to help translate those priorities into coordinated regional investments.
He emphasized the importance of making existing infrastructure work as an integrated and reliable network, strengthening the Middle Corridor as a resilient and sustainable economic bridge between Europe and Asia.
The 2026 AIIB Annual Meeting, held in Doha on 28–29 September under the theme “Tomorrow’s Infrastructure: Impact and Innovation,” brought together policymakers, business leaders, development partners and other stakeholders to discuss the future of sustainable infrastructure and development.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is EUR 3.45 billion. For information on BSTDB, visit www.bstdb.org.
