Bari, Italy:

The Group of Seven nations have committed to promoting concrete infrastructure initiatives such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) in the G7 Summit Communique issued at the end of the three-day G7 Summit, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Communique was issued on Friday evening after the customary “family photo” at the luxury resort of Borgo Egnazia, where the G7 also reiterated a commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific” based on the rule of law.

Prime Minister Modi attended the G7 Summit at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the host.

“We will further promote concrete G7 PGII (Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment) initiatives, flagship projects, and complementary initiatives to develop transformative economic corridors for quality infrastructure and investment, such as the deepening of our coordination and financing for the Lobito Corridor, the Luzon Corridor, the Middle Corridor, and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, also building on the EU Global Gateway, the Great Green Wall Initiative, and the Mattei Plan for Africa launched by Italy,” reads the communique.

Billed as a path-breaking initiative, the IMEC envisages a vast road, railroad and shipping network among Saudi Arabia, India, the United States and Europe to ensure integration among Asia, the Middle East and the West.

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor or IMEC is also seen as an initiative by like-minded nations to gain strategic influence in the face of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which has faced increasing criticism over lack of transparency and disregard for sovereignty of the nations.

China’s BRI is a mega connectivity project that connects China with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe.

The IMEC initiative was firmed up on the sidelines of the G20 Summit hosted by India in Delhi last year.

About the Outreach session on Friday on the topic of Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Africa and the Mediterranean addressed by PM Modi, the Communique reads: “In a spirit of shared responsibility, we warmly welcome the participation of the Leaders of Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, India, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritania, Tunisia, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates.

“We will step up our efforts to enhance interoperability amongst our AI governance approaches to promote greater certainty, transparency and accountability while recognizing that approaches and policy instruments may vary across G7 members. We will take a risk-based approach in these efforts as we seek to foster innovation and strong, inclusive, and sustainable growth.”

Among the other priorities of the summit’s agenda, the communique registers “unwavering support” for Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia.

It notes: “With a view to supporting Ukraine’s current and future needs in the face of a prolonged defence against Russia, the G7 will launch Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loans for Ukraine, in order to make available approximately USD 50 billion in additional funding to Ukraine by the end of the year.

“Therefore, without prejudice to possible other contributions and standing together, the G7 intends to provide financing that will be serviced and repaid by future flows of extraordinary revenues stemming from the immobilisation of Russian sovereign assets held in the European Union and other relevant jurisdictions. To enable this, we will work to obtain approval in these jurisdictions to use future flows of these extraordinary revenues to service and repay the loans.”

Pope Francis became the first pontiff to join the participants of the G7 hosted by Italy – US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.
 

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At the recently-concluded G20 summit, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced the launch of a new trade corridor connecting India to the Middle East and Europe through land and sea routes. The ‘India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor’ is part of a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. After the announcement, several videos of the proposed corridor are going viral on social media. These animated clips show how goods will be transported to Middle East and Europe, benefiting the traders here. Analysts say it will be a direct challenge to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The route of the corridor

The animated video shows a ship leaving India’s western port and heading towards Gulf of Oman. It docks in Dubai and then the cargo takes a rail route to move across Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, again taking the sea route from Haifa to reach Europe.

Proposed India-Middle East-Europe trade corridor explained in this video. pic.twitter.com/ndshkZOji0

— Vice Admiral Arun Kumar Singh (@subnut) September 11, 2023

After touching Cyprus, it reaches Greece. The animation then shows a truck that takes the cargo via land route to Serbia and Croatia in southeastern Europe.

The cargo then enters Austria and ends the journey in Germany. Text overlay on the video shows the cargo covering a distance of 8,158 kilometres.

Significance of the mega corridor

The corridor will not only bring India and Europe close, but also enable cheaper and faster business. The route significant because it’s an alternate to China’s BRI and won’t force participating countries to fall into the debt trap of China.

It will also revolutionise trade, energy and communication through water and railway networks. 

The corridor will be built in two parts – the first one (eastern corridor) will connect India and West Asia. The second part will connect West Asia with Europe.

This proposed corridor will also make it easier for companies to transport their containers from Mumbai to Europe. Currently, they have to go through the Suez Canal, which is longer. This corridor will being down the dependency of Suez Canal.

A rail route from Haifa Dubai to Haifa will be constructed for the corridor.

Experts say it will boost the existing business by 40 per cent.

How will this corridor benefit India?

India will be at the centre of the corridor connecting it to Europe and the Middle East. It will not only improve infrastructure and communication, but also generate new employment opportunities and create new supply chains.

This corridor is a major step towards helping India become a developed country by 2047.