US announces $201M Trans-Caspian Enterprise Fund

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the launch of the Trans-Caspian Enterprise Fund on Saturday, saying the initiative will support private-sector investment along the Trans-Caspian Trade Route, also known as the Middle Corridor.

Rubio made the announcement in a statement marking the first anniversary of a US-brokered peace breakthrough between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The fund is “up and running,” Rubio said, with a newly elected board of directors and $201 million in US government funding.

The initiative aims to spur private-sector investment across the Middle Corridor, which links the South Caucasus and Central Asia and provides an alternative trade route connecting Asia and Europe.

Rubio said the fund’s launch reflects growing economic cooperation following the easing of decades-long tensions between Baku and Yerevan.

“Peace and prosperity reinforce one another,” he said, describing the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) as “more than an infrastructure project.”

He said TRIPP would serve as “a vital link in the Trans-Caspian Trade Route” and help drive commercial opportunities for the US and other countries.

Rubio also said work on TRIPP was advancing, with railway engineering surveys underway in Armenia and Azerbaijan nearing completion of a highway and railroad intended to connect with Armenia.

The secretary said Washington remained committed to supporting Armenia and Azerbaijan as they work toward “a durable, lasting peace in the South Caucasus.”