Latest news with #DammuRavi
The Print
a day ago
- Business
- The Print
Alternative to choke points, IMEC strategic necessity for India in changing world order—MEA
'Historical choke points like Gibraltar, the Malacca Strait, Panama Canal, and the Red Sea have shown us that disruption is inevitable when access is concentrated [at specific points],' he said, adding that the IMEC offered a necessary alternative in an increasingly uncertain global landscape. Speaking at the Chintan Research Foundation-hosted IMEC conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Ravi highlighted how global crises, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, had exposed critical vulnerabilities in existing supply chains. New Delhi: The government sees the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) as a strategic imperative for its future economic and geopolitical ambitions, said Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). 'IMEC is the starting point for India. On the western front, it starts from India, [then] UAE, Saudi, Jordan, Israel, Greece [France and Italy]—there are seven important countries here,' he said. 'On the eastern front is the trilateral island, so you have India, Myanmar, Thailand, and connecting to ASEAN. These are very important. Actually, from a strategic point of view, IMEC is very critical for India.' Strategic necessity in a changing world India's economic aspirations, a projected $30 trillion GDP by 2047, require robust external connectivity, said Ravi. The economic secretary also argued that corridors such as IMEC, as well as the Trilateral Highway, would be vital to support India's industrial ambitions. 'We are at just three percent of global manufacturing compared to China's 30 percent. As we scale up, these corridors will become essential platforms for trade and supply chains,' he added. Also Read: IMEC a 'channel of peace' says Greek minister, plays up growing ties with 'inviolable partner' India India's digital & infrastructure advantage Ravi laid his emphasis on India's competitive edge in building low-cost infrastructure, including ports, highways, railways, and airports, alongside its pioneering Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). 'Digitally connecting IMEC is a first-mover opportunity for India,' he said. 'These are low-cost, scaleable solutions we can lead.' He argued that IMEC would not be just a trade route but a multimodal economic corridor, integrating energy grids, digital systems, and transport infrastructure. 'It is a chance to bring in investment and boost manufacturing along the corridor and expand markets into the hinterland.' While countries such as China have advanced the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) through centralised control and $1 trillion investment in deep funds, democracies must navigate a slower, consensus-driven process, Ravi said, noting under-development models like EU's Global Gateway Forum and the US-led Global Partnership for Infrastructure Investment. 'Democracies debate, deliberate, and move slower, but collaboration is our strength,' Ravi said, calling for a multilateral approach to IMEC. He floated the idea of an IMEC Fund to support execution over time and proposed the creation of an IMEC Secretariat to ensure coordination, timelines, and project continuity. Geopolitical hurdles & role of diplomacy Ravi acknowledged the geopolitical headwind facing the project—from sanctioned Russia and Iran to politically unstable Myanmar. 'These are challenges we must engage with diplomatically. Every participating country's foreign office needs to be actively involved,' he said. He also warned against internal economic resistance, urging Indian industries to see the corridor as an opportunity, not a threat. 'We will need to build narratives that reassure domestic players while keeping the long-term benefits in view. Also, you need a Secretariat for the IMEC. You need to have a coordinating mechanism, without which you will not be able to have timelines, and you will not be able to fulfil your objectives with clarity, ' he added. In conclusion, Ravi positioned IMEC not as a competitor to existing trade routes such as the Suez Canal but as a complementary system. 'Multiple routes mean greater resilience. IMEC is not about replacing but expanding global trade possibilities,' he said, adding that one should not see IMEC 'as a competitor to the Suez Canal; rather, it is a complementary trade route'. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Global trade needs IMEC. Not just India-Europe, it'll boost markets in Middle East too
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
IMEC a catalyst towards vision of Viksit Bharat: Dammu Ravi
India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor ( IMEC ) is a trans-continental connectivity project, which promises to transform the lives of people across continents. Announced at the side-lines of the G20 Summit in Delhi in September 2023, it is a bold vision to connect India with Europe across the Arabian Peninsula. It envisions a multi-modal economic corridor involving multiple businesses, integrating railways, ports, highways, energy networks, and digital infrastructure to enhance trade, investment, and connectivity across the continents. 'From a strategic point of view, IMEC is critical to India. With its friendly relations and fast economic growth , India can be the glue and anchor for this key project', said Dammu Ravi, Secretary Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs, Delhi, while delivering the keynote address. He complemented Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) for organising a conference on a subject which has huge implications to India's growth and its vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. The daylong conference brought together experts from the governments, academia, industry and private businesses across the globe to discuss the various aspects of IMEC, its potential and promises, its weaknesses and threats and most importantly ways and means to get this very ambitious project off the ground. Earlier, welcoming the delegates to the conference, Shishir Priyadarshi, President CRF called IMEC a game changer in India's push towards strong and rapid economic growth. A holistic approach with strong participation of private businesses would be essential to see this project through, he added. The conference was titled 'IMEC: Connecting Continents, Unlocking Opportunities' Live Events While acknowledging challenges in implementing a project of this scale which has an estimated cost outlay of over US $ 600 Billion over a 10 year period, most experts opined that the potential benefits of this project outweighs the costs and obstacles. When implemented in full, IMEC promises to unlock new opportunities of multi-dimensional trade across regions that have traditionally been close trade partners. It has the potential to facilitate faster and more efficient movement of goods, bypassing existing bottlenecks, reducing shipping delays, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and cutting costs. It also aims to secure regional supply chains, improve trade accessibility and facilitate the economic prosperity of people and countries along the alignment of the project. IMEC should be seen as a balancer between a geopolitical project and an economic tool and has the potential to transform the global landscape said, Prasanna Karthik, Vice President, Strategy, Adani Group, while participating in the panel discussion. He was speaking on the need for integrated development of ports, a key link in the success of IMEC. With a target of becoming energy independent by 2047 and achieving Net Zero by 2070, India is increasing renewable energy use across all economic spheres is central to India's Energy Transition. Green Hydrogen is considered a promising alternative for enabling this transition. IMEC provides an opportunity for India to not only promote hydrogen as an alternative fuel and an effective long-term alternative to fossil fuels but also export the fuel by incorporating clean hydrogen pipelines into the corridor. India has already allocated US$2.5 billion towards promoting the country's emergence as a green hydrogen hub. Several prominent Indian business groups, including the Adani Group, Larsen & Toubro Limited, and ReNew Energy Global, are developing green hydrogen technology at a large scale. Geopolitically, IMEC is also being pitched as an expression of India's rise as a global power, both politically and economically, almost coinciding with it becoming the 4th largest global economy. Also, it is seen as a natural progression to bring Israel closer to the West Asian region after the signing of Abraham Accords in September 2020 and the potential Saudi-Israel normalization. The growing close ties between India and West Asia and India and Israel, coupled with the smart business opportunities that would get unlocked by a direct connectivity to Europe is another important contributory factor. In terms of trade between the EU and India, the IMEC is being seen as an economic game changer and an opportunity to strengthen strategic partnerships. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during her recent visit to India in March 2025, had pitched for the IMEC as an important cornerstone for enhancing India-EU trade. She was quoted stating that, 'This corridor is much more than just a railway or able, it is a green and digital bridge across continents and civilizations'. IMEC had earlier figured prominently in the talks between PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump during Modi's visit to Washington in February this year with Trump calling it one of the "greatest trade routes in all of history." He had also called for an early summit of the eight signatories of IMEC, to be held in India in September-October this year, to kick start work on the project.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Middle East crisis could pose an obstacle to India-Middle East-Europe corridor: MEA official
The ongoing crisis in the Middle East could pose an obstacle to the completion of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which was announced on the sidelines of the G20 summit hosted by India in 2023, according to a senior official in the Ministry of External Affairs. 'It's not like we have gone back to square one, but I think the crisis in the Middle East could become a problem or obstacle for the IMEC,' Dammu Ravi, Secretary, Economic Relations, in the Ministry of External Affairs said while speaking at a conference on IMEC hosted by the Chintan Research Foundation on Wednesday (June 4, 2025). IMEC is a proposed corridor spanning ship, ship-rail, and road networks to connect India to the Gulf region and the Gulf region to Europe. Mr. Ravi acknowledged that any mega project of this magnitude would face challenges, but added that the two main issues are going to be competition from other similar projects such as the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and the homogenisation of systems across the partner countries. 'In my view, the biggest challenge that could come in the way, apart from geopolitical issues and conflicts, is harmonisation,' he said. 'The ability to harmonise across platforms, across countries, is important. Harmonisation in terms of regulatory standards, both your technical and phytosanitary regulations, your transportation networks, taxation systems. That will take work.' Mr. Ravi also called for the setting up of a Secretariat or headquarters for the IMEC, which could act as a coordinating mechanism, 'without which a very good idea will disappear in no time'. Speaking at the same conference, Vice Admiral Anil Chawla (Retd.), a Distinguished Fellow at the Council for Strategic and Defence Research (CSDR) pointed out that the IMEC would reduce the transit time of cargo from Mumbai to Piraeus in Greece by around three days. However, he added that this is likely to be offset by customs clearances and regulatory processes at the transit points in Mumbai, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Greece. An increase in efficiency from IMEC, he said in a presentation, was not 'readily apparent'.'IMEC's advantage is that it would bypass the existing chokepoints of the Straits of Bab el Mandeb and the Suez Canal,' Mr. Chawla said. 'However, there is an increased risk of choke points over land as rail lines can be easily sabotaged by non-state actors in the region.'
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Business Standard
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Standard
'US-UK FTA can serve as launch pad for Indian Inc to enter to American mkt'
The latest comprehensive trade agreement inked between the US and the UK also opens a window of opportunity for Indian companies which can use it as another launching pad to enter the American market, said Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations) at the Ministry of External Affairs. While the market size of the UK is small, the US-UK FTA offers Indian-owned automakers and others operating in Britain a big opportunity, Ravi said on Friday. He was speaking at the annual general meeting of the Public Affairs Forum of India. One of the firms expected to reap benefit from this treaty is UK-based luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), an arm of India's Tata Motors. The US-UK trade deal would allow UK-based manufacturers to export 100,000 cars to the US that would attract only 10 per cent duty. It was 25 per cent earlier. This pact is also expected to set a clear template for the Donald Trump administration for a long list of deals it is currently planning with other nations, he said. 'But the US-India FTA will have more than the tariff adjustments, and easing of regulatory mechanisms. They will have other issues in this case, including taxation, standards. We have to be mindful of where it's heading,' he said. Referring to another recent trade pact, the one signed between India and the UK, Ravi said this was one of the most ambitious free trade agreements (FTA) to have been signed by India so far. Ravi said the government recognises the need to ramp up India's trade in its neighbourhood considering that only 5 per cent of the global trade conducted by South Asian nations take place with each other. Ravi suggested that under-construction industrial corridors should be extended beyond India's borders and include hubs in neighbouring nations so that Indian manufacturing footprint can expand in those places. 'India doesn't have its own supply chains. China alone controls 70 per cent of the critical earth mineral supply, and 90 per cent of its processing,' Ravi said. However, pulling out the supply chains for disparate categories of goods won't be easy, he warned. The China+1 strategy, whereby foreign companies diversify their operations and supply chains by adding locations outside of China while still maintaining a presence in the country, won't automatically benefit India unless key infrastructure bottlenecks are removed, the Secretary said.
NDTV
09-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
"We Should Remain Hopeful": Foreign Ministry Official On India-Pak Conflict Escalation
New Delhi: In the backdrop of the ongoing military conflict between India and Pakistan, a senior official in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said "we should remain hopeful" that the existing situation does not escalate. Secretary (Economic Relations) in the MEA, Dammu Ravi, said this in response to a query during an event on the impact of any conflict on the economy and the resilience required in such matters, especially in view of the current scenario. Prior to his interaction with the audience, Mr Ravi addressed the event hosted by the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI), held in the shadow of the military flare-up between India and Pakistan. "Security, development and economic growth are highly inter-linked concepts around the world. So, in a conflict situation, the industry will naturally recoil, and keep on one side and take time for the situation to improve," Mr Ravi said. "We should remain hopeful that the existing conflict does not escalate, and subsides," he said, without naming any country. Till then, the industry will do what it thinks is right, which will normally be -- "not want to take risks", the MEA official said. India on Thursday night neutralised Pakistan's attempt to hit military stations in Jammu, Pathankot, Udhampur and some other locations with missiles and drones, as tensions soared between the two countries amid fears of a wider military conflict. Sirens and numerous explosions were reported in Akhnoor, Samba, Baramulla and Kupwara and several other places, as the Indian military carried out a massive aerial vigil along the border with Pakistan. After the Indian military foiled the Pakistani attempts, the defence ministry said the country remains "fully prepared to defend its sovereignty and ensure the safety of its people".
