What opportunities and difficulties would the new route from India to Europe present?
The proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is examined in more
along with the difficulties that lie ahead.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which will connect India to Europe, was announced by Prime Minister Narendar Modi during the G20 leaders conference in September 2023. But what exactly will this project entail? When will it begin? And what opportunities and difficulties it presents?To further the project, the IMEC will collaborate with nations such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Italy, Germany, and France in addition to the European Union and the United States of America (USA).With its several massive trade route initiatives, such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor (RCEP), China took a similar approach. In order to further integrate trade in the region, the nation is also building extensive rail and road networks.
What will the IMEC involve?
The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), which was established in June 2022 with the goal of serving low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), includes the IMEC project as a component.A railroad, ship-to-rail networks, and other transportation routes make up the 4800 km IMEC. The East Corridor, which would link the Arabian Gulf to India, and the Northern Corridor, which will link the Gulf to Europe, will make up this system.
Well-known ports in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel (Haifa), India (Mundra and Kandla), Greece (Piraeus), France (Marseille), and Italy (Messina) will all be connected.
Prospects for Europe
The epicentre of the big power struggle is now the Middle East and Gulf region. China has the greatest and most constant influence in the Middle East, a region rich in gas and oil reserves as well as key choke points controlling the world economy.
Therefore, the IMEC will prevent any aspirations for sole Chinese control in the Gulf and enable Europe to assert its own power there. Europe can also take advantage of this to reduce the risk posed by Moscow and Beijing.
As Ursula Von der Leyen stated during her speech at the PGII event in September 2023 in Delhi, the IMEC also has the potential to lower transportation costs between 30 and 40 percent from European ports to its connected regions.”It will be the most direct connection between India, the Arabian Gulf, and Europe to date: with a high-speed data cable to link some of the most innovative digital ecosystems in the world and create business opportunities all along the way; with an electricity cable and a clean hydrogen pipeline to foster trade between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; and with a rail link that will make trade between India and Europe 40% faster,” the statement read.
