The World Bank has approved a $20 million loan for the Second Trade and Transport Facilitation in South East Europe Project for Macedonia, according to a statement released by the bank on Wednesday, reported bbj.hu.

The TTFSE2 project will facilitate the movement of trade between Macedonia and neighboring countries in South East Europe by enhancing access to regional and global markets and supporting regional cohesion, which are priorities for moving closer towards European Union accession, said the statement.

Southeast Europe is an important transit area for the EU and its transport infrastructure is included in the Pan-European network of transport corridors.

The EU has identified Corridor 10 as one of the five most important European strategic transport routes, and prioritizes investment and development of this corridor.

Corridor 10 begins in Norway, and runs through Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, with one leg continuing to Macedonia and Greece, and another leg to Bulgaria and Turkey.