The India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is an infrastructure project to connect India to the Middle East and Europe through sea and rail routes. The corridor, announced on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, will be used for the transit of goods from India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Europe
IMEC comprises two corridors, the east corridor connecting India to the Gulf nations and the northern corridor connecting the Gulf to Europe. It will include a railway that will provide a ship-to-rail transit network to supplement existing maritime and road transport routes
China's BRI aims to strengthen infrastructure and trade links on a transcontinental scale by reviving the ancient Silk Road. As per the World Bank, 71 countries are geographically located along the six overland corridors of the BRI. They account collectively for over 30% of the global GDP
BRI onboarded many countries but some of them have expressed concerns about the viability of the projects and opaque funding terms that have led to fear of a 'debt trap'. In 2018, the World Bank said among the 43 corridor economies, 12 were facing debt sustainability issues
IMEC, whose details are yet to come out, is expected to balance China's influence in the Gulf and Europe. Italy, the only G7 country to join the Chinese project, is exiting BRI. Ram Singh, assistant professor at IIFT, writes that this corridor is expected to reduce the time and cost of transporting Indian goods to Europe by 40% and 30% respectively
The professor says the new corridor will support the seamless movement of goods and will be far cheaper operationally than the Suez Canal route, considering its high charges for vessel towing, tug-boat services, pilotage, and transit fees. Currently, goods heading to and from Europe transit through the Suez Canal
US President Joe Biden, who is also concerned about China's rising influence in the Gulf and Africa, said the new economic corridor is 'a real big deal'. He said as a key part of this corridor, the partner countries will invest in ships and rail that extend from India to Europe, connected by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel
Biden also said that the corridor would bridge ports across two continents and make it far easier to trade, export clean energy, expand access to reliable clean electricity, and lay cables that would connect communities that secure a stable internet, contributing to a more stable, more prosperous, and integrated Middle East
In a remark that was seen as a message to China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while announcing the launch of the corridor, said the initiative will contribute to reducing the infrastructure gap in countries in the Global South but it will focus on the financial viability of projects instead of the debt burden
MoS Jitendra Singh said the new economic corridor will address obstacles created by Pakistan's denial of access and China’s reported connectivity designs in the region. "Personally, it instantly took me to the 'Kabuliwala' days of pre-Partition India." Pakistan has been denying India access to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries