Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed the two countries should work more closely on building the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEEC).
About
The IMEEC is a multilateral initiative to revive ancient trade routes and forge new economic ties between regions that have historically been interconnected through commerce, culture and collaborative diplomacy.
It aims to integrate India, Europe, and the Middle-East through UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and the European Union.
The corridor will connect western India, the UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and then continue to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea.
The IMEEC will have two separate corridors –
East Corridor connecting India to the Gulf
Northern Corridor connecting the Gulf to Europe
Ports in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)
India: Mundra Port (Gujarat), Kandla Port (Gujarat), Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (Navi Mumbai)
Middle East: Fujairah Port (UAE), Jebel Ali Port (UAE), Abu Dhabi Port (UAE), Dammam Port (Saudi Arabia), Ras Al Khair Port (Saudi Arabia)
Railway Line: The railway will link Fujairah Port (UAE) to Haifa Port (Israel), passing through Saudi Arabia (via Ghuwaifat and Haradh) and Jordan.
Israel: Haifa Port (Israel)
Europe: Piraeus Port (Greece), Messina Port (Southern Italy), Marseille Port (France)
The corridor intends to enhance connectivity, increase efficiency, reduce costs, secure regional supply chains, increase trade accessibility, generate jobs and lower greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in a transformative integration of Asia, Europe and Middle East.
The rail and shipping corridor is part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII).
It is a collaborative effort by G7 nations to fund infrastructure projects in developing nations.
PGII is considered to be the bloc’s counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.