India outlines plans for ambitious Mideast-Europe economic corridor
NEW DELHI, 5 hours, 6 minutes ago
India has outlined plans for its ambitious project - IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor) as it takes shape.
The IMEC comprises two separate geographical corridors, reported Wam citing Kirti Vardhan Singh, the Minister of State for External Affairs, who said this in his reply to a query in India’s Parliament.
"An eastern corridor will connect India to the Gulf and a northern corridor will connect the Gulf to Europe,” Singh told Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde, a member of Lok Sabha, the lower House of Parliament.
"The corridor intends to enhance connectivity, increase efficiency, reduce costs, secure regional supply chains, increase trade accessibility, generate jobs and lower greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in a transformative integration of Asia, Europe and Middle East," the minister said.
The IMEC was conceived on September 9 last year on the sidelines of the 18th Summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) in New Delhi with founding members - India, US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union sealing the pact.
The IMEC was mainly aimed at enhancing global trade and counter China's Belt and Road Initiative. It aims to connect a combined GDP of $47 trillion with a comprehensive infrastructure network and focuses on high-efficiency trade routes, renewable energy, digital infrastructure and improved international communication networks.
But to succeed, participating countries must align their implementation strategy to overcome geopolitical and logistical challenges, say experts.
Singh explained that development and management of a logistics platform, including a digital ecosystem, and provision of supply chain services to handle all types of general cargo, bulk, containers and liquids are all under way.
he IMEC project has attracted attention for its ambitious green energy and infrastructure plans, but it must also deal with environmental and socio-political risks. Developing solar grids and hydrogen corridors is a significant step toward renewable energy, but the environmental footprint of constructing this massive infrastructure is a concern.
While the corridor aims to promote clean hydrogen trade, questions also remain about the feasibility of large-scale green hydrogen production and transportation across long distances. Ensuring this energy source is produced using renewable energy rather than fossil fuels will require continuous technological advancements and investments.
According to top industry experts, one of the IMEC’s significant contributions could be reducing the global economy’s reliance on critical maritime chokepoints like the Suez Canal.
The corridor proposes an alternative route that could reduce congestion and improve trade resilience for India and its partners.
But while the IMEC may offer an alternative route, it is unlikely to replace the Suez Canal entirely, given the volume of global trade passing through the latter, they stated.
