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World Affairs
Mahesh

18/10/23 10:44 AM IST

India-Middle East-Europe mega economic corridor

In News
  • Prime Minister of India, President of the United States, Chancellor of Germany, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, President of UAE, Prime Minister of Italy, and the President of the EU unanimously agreed to establish the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
About IMEC
  • The IMEC will be a route in the historic sense of the word (with the geopolitical and economic significance that entails), providing transport connectivity to accelerate the development and integration of Asia, the Arabian Gulf, and Europe as a new locus of global power.
  • It envisions a reliable, cost-effective railway and ship-to-rail transit network to supplement maritime and road routes, enabling goods and services to move between India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and the EU.
  • The corridor will include a rail link as well as an electricity cable, a hydrogen pipeline and a high-speed data cable.
  • IMEC is envisioned as not one, but two corridors — an eastern corridor linking India to the Arabian Gulf and a northern corridor linking the Arabian Gulf to Europe.
  • Both ends have robust port, rail, and road infrastructure.
  • India, whose connectivity infrastructure has helped it become the world’s fastest-growing major economy, has a massive, well-integrated railroad network, mega ports, and highways on the eastern end of IMEC.
  • Mega infra projects for augmenting capacities — dedicated rail freight corridors, highways, expressways and ports — are at various stages of development.
  • On the western end of IMEC, beyond Haifa, the sea route across the Mediterranean is also a well-charted path to Greece, Italy, France, and Spain, and well served by hinterland connectivity to Europe by rail and roads.
Significance
  • It will be the cornerstone of economic progress across the region by supercharging regional trade, and connecting Asia with Europe through a region that has never, since the ancient Red Sea route,
  • Been considered for such connectivity despite its game-changing potential in terms of shorter transits, accessibility, and multimodal connectivity.
  • It links major ports of western India including JNPT, Kochi, Kandla and Mundra with major shipping ports of the Gulf, including Jebel Ali, Fujairah, Ras Al-Khair, Dammam, Duqm, and Salalah.
Source- Indian Express

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