Details of the India-Europe Economic Corridor
Current Situation:
- From the ancient Red Sea route, Rome to the Indian Ocean, and Punjab, which was significant from a sociocultural, economic, and connectivity point of view, India has historically been the pivot of connectedness.
- Additionally, the establishment of the India-Middle East-European Economic Corridor (IMEC) was recently unanimously approved by the Prime Minister of India, the President of the United States, the Chancellor of Germany, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, the President of the United Arab Emirates, the Prime Minister of Italy, and the President of the EU on September 10 in New Delhi.
The importance of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC):
- With the geopolitical and economic significance it implies, the IMEC will be a route in the historical sense of the word, enabling transportation links to hasten the integration of Asia, the Arabian Gulf, and Europe as a new centre of global power.
- MEC is intended to have two passageways.
- a northern corridor connecting the Arabian Gulf to Europe and an eastern corridor connecting India to the Arabian Gulf. Strong port, rail, and road infrastructure may be found at both ends.
- India, which has the fastest-growing major economy in the world, has a sizable, seamlessly connected railway network, mega ports, and motorways on the eastern end of IMEC.
- Mega infrastructure projects, including ports, motorways, motorways, and dedicated rail freight corridors, are at various phases of development.
- Beyond Haifa, on the western end of IMEC, the maritime route across the Mediterranean is also a well-known route to Greece, Italy, France, and Spain, and it is well connected to the continent’s hinterland by roads and rail.
The value of IMEC:
- Improve connectivity: It plans to build a dependable, affordable ship-to-rail and railway transit network to complement existing maritime and road lines, allowing products and services to be transported between India, the EU, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel. India’s moment is IMEC.
- Development and creation of jobs in the area as a result of infrastructural development.
- By boosting regional trade and connecting Asia with Europe through a region that has never before—not since the days of the ancient Red Sea route—been thought of for such connectivity despite its potentially game-changing advantages in terms of shorter transit times, accessibility, and multimodal connectivity.
When compared to the current path, it will save time:
- Despite being longer and requiring more money for logistics, the Suez Canal and Mediterranean shipping routes continue to be the foundation of the maritime corridor between Asia and Europe.
- From JNPT in Maharashtra, it takes 11 days to cruise to Suez port and 6 days to Dammam. Consignments might arrive at Haifa after an additional 24-hour rail transit, saving three to four days of travel.
- The supply chain between the partner countries would be strengthened.
- IMEC, which claims to offer faster routes. It connects important Gulf maritime ports including Jebel Ali, Fujairah, Ras Al-Khair, Dammam, Duqm, and Salalah with key western Indian ports like JNPT, Kochi, Kandla, and Mundra.
- It will aid in undermining China’s Belt and Road Initiative hegemony in the Asia-Europe region.
Moving ahead:
- Since the financial returns on investments look to be high, securing resources from stakeholders and international financial institutions like the World Bank won’t be a problem.
- The corridor for green and sustainable growth will include plans for installing electrical connections and a pipeline to transport clean hydrogen. The attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a worldwide scale will be aided by the greening of this project.
- IMEC has the extraordinary potential to unite West Asia, Europe, and India on a shared path of enormous progress.
- And it is a historic time for India as a regional power that, via a mix of technological leadership and a global outlook, can revitalise an entire regional economy.
- The following phase is to create a plan of action to solve physical and non-physical hurdles, design, funding, legal and other regulatory requirements. This plan of action needs to be developed by a working group of specialists from the railway industry, ports and shipping, and communications.
Conclusion:
- A massive international effort like IMEC is just the start. This new corridor will spark regional and international collaboration efforts for socio-economic development across continents, to the benefit of millions. It serves as a strategic catalyst for a new way of thinking about collective growth, globalisation, and connectedness.
