12-08-2025
IMEC reviving centuries old trade links between India and Mediterranean: Italy Envoy
IMEC
is reviving centuries-old trading links between India and the Mediterranean region including Italy.
Italy
with maximum ports in the Mediterranean is poised to play a big role in the IMEC, according to
Ambassador Francesco Talo
, Italy's Special Envoy for IMEC.
"When IMEC was announced in September 2023 and I was there. I was in a different position. I was there with the Prime Minister Meloni. So personally, for me, it's particularly interesting," Talo told ET in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the IMEC meet convened by India in New Delhi last week. Talo was the Diplomatic Adviser to the Italian PM when the initiative was announced in 2023.
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'…we both understood about the reciprocal importance and the fact that practically, we belong to the same community, culturally, identity wise. And there's also the relevance that for the current governments, both countries have national identity, right? So the awareness of national identity coupled with the commitment for an international, let's say cooperation, cooperation for, let's say the good of a larger country, global goods, global. So I think this was very important. In this context, we started to develop an idea which now is already, of an
Indo-Mediterranean community
. Indo Mediterranean, again, has both these features, the identity, one so one rooted in our heritage, and the other one, the one which is projected toward the future,' Talo explained
'So you see how much it's natural to have relations for reciprocal interests among countries who have, of course, also very great heritage and in this moment is even more important because of two reasons, and here I want to always highlight that IMEC should not be seen as a Project against anyone. But a parallel one.'
'We have to envisage what we can do practically sooner with the Middle East countries, but we can start build the framework," Talo suggested.
"It is important that India took the initiative. So we are grateful to India for this initiative, because now we are stepping from, let's say, just the debate phase, to a more concrete action, so to words into action. But of course, this is a very complex thing. We do not have all the skills which we need that we should have, I mean engineers, economists, lot of people..." Talo pointed out
"In Italy, we already have had a meeting with the main companies to speak with them, to understand if they are interested, raise interest, and there is an interest. We are creating a community of companies which could be involved. We did the same with administrations, because this is another complication. You cannot do it only with the Prime Minister, offices or the Foreign Ministry. You need many ministries, Transport Ministry, energy and trade and industry, shipping."
this means really a big coordination within domestic level at European level, and this is something I also want to stress we are working as team Europe. So the three countries greeted Germany, no Italy, Germany and France.
Another important fact which has emerged now. It is clear in Brussels, European Union that IMEC could be under the umbrella of Global Gateway.
Trieste is the northern most harbour of all the Mediterranean. So the big advantage of Trieste is that is closer to Germany, which is the hub of industry in Europe, according to Talo
Italy is the country with the largest number of big ports in the Mediterranean. So Italy is considered Eastern Mediterranean, Central Mediterranean and West Mediterranean.
