Despite Gaza war woes, India hustles to manifest its trade corridor to Europe
French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seen during the inauguration of the Indian Consulate as part of a visit in Marseille, France, on Feb 12. PHOTO: REUTERS
– India is making every effort to advance an ambitious plan to deepen transportation and economic connectivity with the Middle East and Europe even if the war in Gaza appears to have thrown a spanner in the works.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (Imec) has so far received US President Donald Trump's blessings – though it was launched during his predecessor Joe Biden's presidency more than a year ago on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders' meeting in New Delhi and a month before the Gaza war started.
This multi-nation geo-economics project is seen as important to India's Global South leadership ambitions and widely viewed as a parallel to China's Belt and Road Initiative.
In the decade or so since Beijing unleashed its Belt and Road initiative, it claims to have invested in more than 100 countries – including those in a corridor that connects China with Europe via Central Asia that used to be part of the ancient Silk Road trading route.
'He (Trump) wants to push this project. He would likely weigh in the China factor, taking in China's growing footprint in the (west Asia) region,' said Dr Alvite Ningthoujam, an assistant professor in international studies at a Pune-based private university, Symbiosis International.
Following a February meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Trump called the Imec 'one of the greatest trade routes in history' and noted that 'a lot of money is going to be spent'.
The proposed Imec consists of an eastern corridor linking India to the Arabian Gulf and a northern corridor that will connect the Arabian Gulf to Europe.
For Mr Trump, Dr Ningthoujam noted, the range of opportunities for American companies to play a part in developing port and rail infrastructure is a big attraction.
Imec aims to boost trade, establish telecommunication and data networks, along with energy links for the exchange of green hydrogen and electricity.
While the Gaza conflict has ruled out multilateral collaboration with Israel and the Gulf countries for now, India is taking incremental steps by initiating bilateral projects, nearly two years after half a dozen countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, signed on to the project in September 2023.
New Delhi and Riyadh are working on a feasibility study to connect electricity grids through undersea cables under the Arabian Sea between Saudi Arabia's eastern coast and India's western coast.
Imec and strengthening bilateral connectivity have continued to feature in talks between India and the UAE, which in 202 4 signed an agreement of cooperation on the corridor but without any mention of Israel, a key Middle East Imec partner.
'There is a lot of groundwork that needs to be done. We do not need to necessarily wait for the security situation to completely settle down for work to start on Imec,' said Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in a press conference on April 19.
Talks are ongoing with European partners such as France, Greece and Italy.
'If you look at the response of various stakeholders, it suggests the value of Imec is still considered high enough for it not to be sidelined because of geopolitical challenges,' said Professor Harsh V. Pant, vice-president for studies and foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think-tank.
France and Italy have appointed their own Imec envoys. French President Emmanuel Macron has already sought to position the southern port city of Marseilles as the corridor's entry point for Europe. The city is also where Mr Modi officially opened India's new consulate in February.
'Imec's vision may not unfold exactly as anticipated in terms of the scope or timeline, but it remains economically, strategically and politically relevant and viable,' said Dr Narayanappa Janardhan, director for research and analysis at Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi.
Domestically, too, India has been taking steps that are seen to be linked to its ambition of creating new trade routes. In February this year, India announced a consortium of public sector companies, including India Ports Global, to develop and operate overseas ports in line with this ambition.
Globally, connectivity projects have acquired added importance following various conflicts and the Covid-19 pandemic. This has led to efforts like Imec to create new trade routes.
Even without the Gaza conflict, the sheer scale and ambition of Imec poses many challenges.
'This is not just trade. We are talking about a green energy corridor and many other aspects. We need to decipher what this project entails. Is it trade, economy or geopolitics? I think it's a mix of all, and the challenge would be – how do you coordinate?' said Dr Meena Singh Roy, a senior fellow and head of India-based think-tank Tillotoma Foundation's West and Central Asia Centre.
According to Indian calculations, the trade route will bring logistics costs down.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said these costs could be lowered by up to 30 per cent and transportation time reduced by 40 per cent, compared with India using the Suez Canal as a trade channel.
'This being a multi-modal project, multi-country cooperation on transit rules is clearly the biggest hurdle,' said Dr Amitendu Palit, senior research fellow and research lead (trade and economics) at the NUS Institute of South Asian Studies.
Other issues relate to 'securing capital, aligning infrastructure and resolving technical and administrative issues', according to an Imec study conducted by MENA2050, an organisation that seeks to foster development in the Middle East and Africa.
While Imec is the most ambitious of India's efforts to find and secure new trading routes, there are others such as the International North-South Transport Corridor.
The latter is a 7,200km network of railroads, highways and maritime routes connecting Russia with Iran and India. Sanctions on Iran and Russia have slowed its development.
'India is a growing economy. It needs to be part of as many connectivity projects as it can,' said Dr Roy.
For now, however, Professor Zikrur Rahman, a former Indian ambassador to Palestine, said Gulf countries would not move f orwar d multilaterally unless a solution is found for Gaza.
'It is a wait-and-watch approach in relation to what Israel is doing in Gaza,' he added.
Nirmala Ganapathy is India bureau chief at The Straits Times. She is based in New Delhi and writes about India's foreign policy and politics.
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