Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while delivering the Interim Budget, hailed the recently- signed treaty on India, Middle East, Europe trade corridor.
“The recent India Middle East Europe economic corridor is a strategic and economic game changer for India and others. In the words of the Prime Minister, the corridor and I quote, the corridor will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come and history will remember that this corridor was initiated on Indian soil,” the minister said.
IMEC Project was signed at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, which holds significant geopolitical and economic implications for India. The project forms part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII). The proposed IMEC will consist of railroad, ship-to-rail networks and road transport routes extending across two corridors, that is, the East Corridor – connecting India to the Arabian Gulf, the Northern Corridor – connecting the Gulf to Europe. The IMEC corridor will also include an electricity cable, a hydrogen pipeline, and a high-speed data cable.
India, the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, the European Union, Italy, France, and Germany are the signatories of the project. On the Indian side Mundra (Gujarat), Kandla (Gujarat), and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (Navi Mumbai) and from Middle East Fujairah, Jebel Ali, and Abu Dhabi in the UAE as well as Dammam and Ras Al Khair ports in Saudi Arabia, Israel’s Haifa port, while in Europe Piraeus port in Greece, Messina in South Italy, and Marseille in France will be connected. Railway line will connect Fujairah port (UAE) to Haifa port (Israel) via: Saudi Arabia (Ghuwaifat and Haradh) and Jordan.
It aims to create a comprehensive transportation network, comprising rail, road, and sea routes, connecting India, the Middle East, and Europe and enhance transportation efficiency, reduce costs, increase economic unity, generate employment, and lower Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. It is expected to transform the integration of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East by facilitating trade and connectivity.
It is said that Upon completion, it would provide a “reliable and cost-effective cross-border ship-to-rail transit network to supplement existing maritime and road transports. IMEC is seen as a potential counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the Eurasian region.
The corridor will deepen India’s strategic engagement with the Arabian Peninsula by establishing enduring connectivity and elevating political and strategic links with nations in the region.
