Finance Minister Explains the Upcoming India-Middle East-Europe Corridor

India's Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, shared about ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Connectivity Corridor (IMEC) which was unveiled at the 18th G-20 Summit in New Delhi on September 9-10, 2023, concluding India's G-20 Presidency. The IMEC is a comprehensive multimodal economic corridor integrating shipping, railways, and roadways, alongside electricity and high-speed data cables and a hydrogen pipeline. Initiating with the Eastern Corridor, primarily maritime, the IMEC links Indian ports like Jawaharlal Nehru, Mundra, and Kandla to West Asian ports in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The rail segment extends to Saudi Arabian cities and then connects to the Israeli port of Haifa. The Northern Corridor, another maritime stretch, connects Haifa to the Greek port of Piraeus and further into Europe. This corridor establishes a cost-effective cross-border, ship-to-rail transit network, fostering economic integration across South Asia, West Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Finance Minister Sitharaman emphasized the IMEC's potential for enhancing transportation efficiency, reducing logistics costs, promoting economic unity, generating employment, and reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions. However, she acknowledged geopolitical challenges, notably the Israel-Gaza conflict. India, recognizing the crucial role of the ocean in its national power, is committed to supporting the maritime sector through fiscal policies, aiming to position the country as a hub in global supply chains across the Indo-Pacific and beyond. The positive response across various government sectors, from fisheries to maritime tourism, underscores the encouraging outcomes of these efforts, particularly in the shipping industry.