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
Ports to be Connected:
India: Mundra (Gujarat), Kandla (Gujarat), and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (Navi Mumbai).
Middle East: Fujairah, Jebel Ali, and Abu Dhabi in the UAE as well as Dammam and Ras Al Khair ports in Saudi Arabia.
Railway line will connect Fujairah port (UAE) to Haifa port (Israel) via: Saudi Arabia (Ghuwaifat and Haradh) and Jordan.
Israel: Haifa port.
Europe: Piraeus port in Greece, Messina in South Italy, and Marseille in France.
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)
The BRI is a mega connectivity project that connects China with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe.
Progress of IMEC
Eastern Leg: Progress between India and UAE is strong. Bilateral trade has surged, with a 93% increase from 2020-21 to 2023-24.
The UAE-India trade agreement (CEPA) and the launch of the Virtual Trade Corridor are streamlining trade processes.
Western Leg: The northern part, involving Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel, has faced delays due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia, especially the Israel-Palestine conflict.
While infrastructure is advancing on the eastern leg, other aspects like clean energy, telecommunications, and energy grid links are on hold until regional tensions subside.
What India Can Do
India should focus on enhancing its ports, creating economic zones along IMEC nodes, and upgrading domestic logistics for smoother integration with the corridor.
India should improve digital systems in logistics to reduce time and costs, making exports more competitive.
To maximize benefits, India should boost its manufacturing capabilities and competitiveness to become a global supply chain alternative through IMEC.
India should advocate for the establishment of an IMEC secretariat to organize the project's structure, streamline cross-border trade processes, and conduct research on its benefits, encouraging more countries to join the initiative.
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