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The Group of Seven industrialised nations have committed to promoting concrete infrastructure initiatives such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) in the G-7 Summit (Italy) Communique issued at the end of a three-day G-7 Outreach Summit, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The proposed IMEC will consist of Railroad, Ship-to-Rail networks and Road transport routes extending across two corridors, that is,
The East Corridor – connecting India to the Arabian Gulf,
The Northern Corridor – connecting the Gulf to Europe.
The IMEC corridor will also include an electricity cable, a hydrogen pipeline and a high-speed data cable.
Signatories: India, the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, the European Union, Italy, France, and Germany
The IMEC initiative was firmed up on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit hosted by India in Delhi in 2023
The 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 the lack of transparency and disregard for the sovereignty of nations.
The BRI is a mega connectivity project that connects China with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe.
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