Latest news with #IMEC
Al Etihad
04-07-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
TRENDS participates in seminar on Korea's Middle East policy
4 July 2025 11:49 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)A policy seminar held at the Republic of Korea's National Assembly called for a pragmatic foreign policy toward the Middle East based on Korea's national interests and responsive to the region's rapid high-level seminar took place in Meeting Room 5 of the National Assembly Members' Office Building, organised with the support of TRENDS Korea Office in Seoul, in cooperation with Representative Hong Ki-won, the Korea–Arab Society, and the Centre for the Middle East and Islamic Studies at the Asiatic Research Institute, Korea in the seminar — The Middle East Policy Direction of the Lee Administration — stressed the need to shift from the traditional view of the region as merely a source of energy or a market, toward a strategic partnership built on mutual understanding and shared his opening remarks, Kim Chang-mo, Secretary-General of the Korea–Arab Society, noted that the complexities of the regional landscape require Korea to pursue a balanced diplomatic approach that reflects its growing global statureRepresentative Hong Ki-won emphasised that while the Middle East has always been important, it has not received the attention it deserves in Korean policy. He added that this seminar provides an opportunity to reassess this approach, especially at the start of President Lee's Jin-han, Director of the Asiatic Research Institute, highlighted the importance of launching urgent intellectual initiatives to keep pace with emerging challenges in the Middle East and to assist policymakers in shaping more effective his keynote address, former ambassador Yoon Kang-hyun described the Middle East as a vital hub linking three continents, with significant executive and economic potential. He called for independent diplomacy toward each subregion, moving beyond formal agreements toward genuine cooperation, appointing special envoys to priority areas, and enhancing people-to-people and cultural the economic front, Dr. Lee Kwan-hyung, Senior Research Fellow at Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), stressed the need to reduce reliance on the energy sector. He proposed expanding cooperation into new sectors, accelerating the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, supporting Korea's involvement in the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), and advocating for a Korea–Middle East discussions featured several ambassadors and experts, including Ma Young-sam, former ambassador to Israel; Park Jong-young, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Kim Duk-il, Director of the Political Economy Department at Korea University; and Kim Jong-doo (Musa), Director of TRENDS Korea Office. The seminar concluded with several key recommendations, including strengthening official development assistance (ODA) programmes, developing trust-based diplomacy, and establishing a dedicated research institute focused on Middle East affairs from a long-term strategic perspective.
Euronews
03-07-2025
- Business
- Euronews
IMEC: Can the ambitious trade corridor from India to Europe succeed?
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is one of the most ambitious modern connectivity initiatives. It aims to create a modern transport and trade corridor linking India to Europe through the Middle East, leveraging ports, rail networks, highways and digital infrastructure. The project aspires to reshape global trade maps, offer alternatives beyond the Suez Canal, and enhance Europe's energy and supply security. For Greece, IMEC represents an opportunity to upgrade its role as a key gateway to Europe. Greek ports, particularly Piraeus and Thessaloniki, have the potential to become key centres for transferring goods and distributing them further into Europe. At the same time, Greece can act as an energy hub, contributing to the diversification of energy sources and supply routes. However, IMEC also faces significant challenges: geopolitical tensions, competition from other trade routes and countries, the need for large infrastructure investment and policy coordination. These challenges were discussed in detail at the event titled 'IMEC from potential to partnership,' held by the Balkans & Black Sea Forum "Executive Roundtable 2025," with the participation of ambassadors from the involved countries, analysts, experts, and industry stakeholders. The main conclusions are: The IMEC Corridor needs clear guidance and funding. The project started as an Indian initiative, which was then embraced by the EU and Saudi Arabia. However, unlike other similar initiatives, India has not set up a specific implementing body for the project, nor has it committed funds. Most speakers agreed that the projects will need to be funded through India-EU partnerships, and that the contribution of Saudi Arabia and the US will be crucial. The US is generally positive about the project but sees it as part of a larger strategic framework related to the implementation of the Abraham Accords. As the speakers pointed out, it is unlikely that India, mainly due to a different mindset, will commit funds and establish a mechanism for the implementation of the IMEC, as China did for the 'Belt and Road' Initiative. The Indian government emphasises that countries themselves must adopt the project and develop national plans for its implementation. The corridor will require coordination in the development and operation of the necessary infrastructure. The project is easier for the ports, but for the railway, there are many challenges. For example, there is a need to secure investment funding, build the necessary railway lines (some of which cross regions with significant geopolitical instability), establish a customs union, and set up a dedicated sales office. As one of the speakers said: "Every corridor is only as strong as its weakest point." For Greece, the big challenge is the port of Piraeus. Greece is trying to emerge as the main gateway of the Corridor to Europe (competing with Italy and France). However, the fact that the port of Piraeus is managed by a Chinese company raises questions about how willing and able it will be to serve as the final point of the IMEC. Alternatively, as some speakers noted, the port of Thessaloniki could play this role. The second major challenge relates to the railway network, which is underdeveloped both within Greece and in its connections with neighbouring countries. As was emphasised, without a strong and interconnected railway network, the potential to fully utilise the IMEC is significantly limited. The military conflicts in the Middle East are 'freezing' plans for the Corridor's development. Although tensions have eased in the past 24 hours, the broader Middle East region remains an area of high tension and conflict, which raises questions as to whether and how the necessary infrastructure will be shielded. As for Cyprus, whose participation in the project was confirmed during the recent visit of Noreda Modi to Nicosia, it was noted that Cyprus could become a regional hub for managing administrative and operational issues, building on its experience in this field and its membership of the EU. And what will be the role of the Palestinians in this project? "The Palestinians should be part of the project," noted the speakers, for example with rail links to Jordan through the West Bank. However, such a prospect requires permanent peace in the region.
Indian Express
28-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Ram Madhav writes: India and the new world order
Eurasia is in turmoil. Three major conflicts — Russia-Ukraine, Israel's Gaza operations and the Israel-Iran-US conflict — are reshaping the geopolitics of the region. Wars don't just cause physical destruction, they profoundly impact international relations. Beyond Eurasia, US President Donald Trump is causing serious drift and disorder in the Western world. The US and Western Europe, powerhouses of the last century, appear to be decisively moving into a slow afternoon. At the same time, the world is witnessing the unmissable rise of China as a dominant economic and technological superpower. These developments, coupled with a few other important ones, will lead to the emergence of a new global order. Therein lies a major challenge for India. It developed institutions and initiatives based on the premises of the old world. But the emerging order calls for a new way of thinking about its geostrategic priorities. During the ill-fated Cultural Revolution years in China, Chairman Mao Zedong used to call for the abolition of the 'Four Olds' — old ideology, old culture, old habits and old customs. This might be a wrong analogy, but India, too, needs to come out of the mindset of the last century. India has built a strong partnership with Europe over the past few decades. In recent years, the Narendra Modi government has successfully enhanced engagement with Middle Eastern powers like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Out of those engagements emerged the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) initiative. IMEC is a promising initiative connecting South Asia with the GCC region and Europe. Signed in September 2023 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi, IMEC became the flavour of the season for many strategic pundits and fodder for think tanks. However, given the changed geopolitical scenario in Eurasia, India needs to recalibrate IMEC carefully. Although a beneficial project, it faces daunting challenges, the cauldron in Eurasia being the major one. With stability eluding the region, IMEC's future, too, remains ambiguous. At a more fundamental level, the positioning of IMEC itself has been flawed. Most commentaries seek to pit it against China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Confusing the geo-economic with the geo-strategic is one of the old-school traits that many in India fail to overcome. It must be remembered that almost all the member countries of the GCC are partners in the BRI while at least 17 out of 27 EU member countries have closer trade ties with China. Only Italy decided to quit the BRI recently while the rest continue to enjoy Chinese largesse. There is IMEC-related romanticism too, with some scholars overemphasising the millennia-old history when India traded with Europe through ports in the Gulf. It is a fact that India traded in spices and textiles with Europe in return for gold in the good old days — so much so that scholars in Rome used to bitterly complain to their emperor that India was draining all the gold from their kingdom. But today's reality is different. Oman, whose ports were an important part of the route in ancient times, is not even part of IMEC. Then there is the logistics nightmare. In the IMEC scheme, goods from India will reach Middle Eastern ports like Jebel Ali (Dubai) by sea lines. From there, they will be transported through the land route to Haifa in Israel. Beyond Haifa, it will again be a journey through the sea lines to European ports like Marseille in France and Trieste in Italy. Some argue that it bypasses the Suez Canal and thus helps save time and money for the exports. This is contestable. Seventy-five ships pass through the Suez Canal every day in normal times. Each carries a minimum load of 1,00,000 tonnes. If the Suez needs to be bypassed, it requires massive rail infrastructure through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Israel. One has to look at the numbers just to understand the magnitude of the challenge. A single reasonably long freight train can carry 5,500 tonnes of goods. That means for every ship diverting to the Middle East, we need a minimum of 18.5 trains to carry that load to Israel. One can easily calculate the number of trains required and the time this would consume if even a fraction of the ships decide to junk Suez and take this route. Moreover, countries on the land route like Jordan and Egypt are still not part of IMEC. Undoubtedly, beyond these nightmarish challenges lies the opportunity of the $18 trillion economy of the EU that India can explore. But it must also be kept in mind that the EU's GDP growth is sluggish at around 1 per cent, and China is already a big presence in the EU market with a more than 55 per cent share in the manufactured goods sector and a significantly growing share in other key sectors. That leaves less scope for India to penetrate. India has a history of such projects. Long before venturing into the IMEC initiative, in 2000, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government announced the North-South corridor project with much fanfare. It was duly signed by India, Russia and Iran in 2003. Two decades later, while the project remained on paper for India, China quickly entered and built formidable ties with the two countries. Similarly, we talked about a Look East policy in the 1990s, seeking to build strong ties with the roaring Asian Tigers. It became the Act East policy under PM Modi. Yet our engagement with a region that became a free trade partner in 2010, and a comprehensive strategic partner in 2022, remained below par. While India's trade with ASEAN remains at $120 billion, China's trade is touching $1 trillion and growing rapidly. Besides IMEC, Eastern and Central Europe, Russia and ASEAN are important regions for India's geostrategic objectives. It is time India reconfigured its global engagements, going beyond old-world romanticism and Cold War calculations, and followed a multidirectional approach with specific end goals. The writer, president, India Foundation, is with the BJP. Views are personal
Mint
25-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Export thrust: India should move goods like a horse to trade like a tiger
India's merchandise exports grew by a significant 39% from $317.5 billion in 2014 to $441.7 billion in 2024. This rise in exports testifies to India's ambition of positioning itself as a global manufacturing and export powerhouse. Flagship government schemes, such as production-linked incentives (PLI), Make in India and the Phased Manufacturing Programme have played a vital role in India's export thrust. The 'trading across borders' indicator from the World Bank's 2020 Doing Business data-set showed that exporting from India took significant time and money. On average, border procedures alone took 52 hours and $212 per container. Export documentation consumed 12 hours and $58. Importing took even more—with around 65 hours and $266 needed for border clearance, and 20 hours and $100 for documentation. In comparison, China was processing the same export shipments within 21 hours at a slightly higher cost of $256 per container. It processed documents faster too, in 9 hours on average, although the documentation cost is $74, slightly higher than in India. Also Read: IMEC jinx: There's no relief in sight from war clouds over this trade route India was better placed than the likes of Bangladesh and Vietnam, but behind countries like South Korea, which was the world leader on those counts. South Korea was doing border checks in just 13 hours at a cost of $185, and document processing in 1 hour for only $11. All these numbers showed the gap India needed to cover in competition with the world's best export performers. While Doing Business data is old and the World Bank has discontinued this study, its broad 2020 rankings may not have changed very much (except in Vietnam's case perhaps). More recent data from the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index (LPI) offers us another picture. This index tracks the transportation of goods within and between countries, taking into account six measures: customs efficiency, infrastructure, ease of coordinating international shipments, logistics quality, tracking and tracing ability, and punctuality (frequency of on-time shipments). As reported by the 2023 LPI report, India has taken significant strides on logistics, moving its world ranking from No. 54 in 2014 to No. 38 in 2023, with its score rising from 3.08 to 3.4. Its ranking on timeliness rose from No. 51 to No. 35, and its score for logistics competence and quality rose from 52 to 38, signifying higher professionalism and reliability in freight services. Moreover, in terms of infrastructure (covering ports, roads and railways), India's rank rose from No. 58 to No. 47, reflecting the impact of recent investments in physical logistical infrastructure. Still, China is ahead of India on an absolute basis, at 19th place with a score of 3.7. It scores better on all the key factors: timeliness, quality of logistics and impressively on infrastructure, indicating the strength and dependability of its supply chain mechanisms. India's progress is heartening. Yet, continued efforts are needed to reach the logistics performance of global leaders. Also Read: Our trade ambitions should make us look across as many seas as we can India has also achieved impressive reductions in 'dwell time'—the number of days that cargo is held at a terminal or port before it can proceed. In the LPI 2023 report, while 4 to 8 days is the typical dwell time for economies at every level of income, India is on par with Singapore with a dwell time of only 3 days. This is an achievement ahead of the UAE, South Africa, US and Germany, indicative of improved coordination between customs officials, port authorities and logistics firms. Underpinning these efficiency gains is India's massive investment in transport and logistics infrastructure. The coverage of National Highways (NH) increased from 65,569km in 2004 to 146,145km in 2024, with four and more lane stretches rising 2.6 times since 2014. The construction tempo has picked up sharply, from 12.1km per day in 2014-15 to 33.8km per day in 2023-24. Flagship programmes such as the Bharatmala Pariyojana launched in 2017, are developing 26,000km of economic corridors, ring roads, bypasses and elevated corridors to ease city congestion and enhance freight movement. As of November 2024, 18,926km of roads had been constructed under this scheme. Also Read: The time is right for a reset of India's trade ties with China Apart from this, 35 multimodal logistics parks are also being built under the Bharatmala plan, with an aggregate outlay of ₹46,000 crore. On commissioning, these parks will be capable of transporting 700 million metric tonnes of cargo, increasing India's capacity to integrate various modes of transport in a cost-effective manner. India's port cargo handling capacity has nearly doubled from 800.5 million tonnes annually in 2014 to 1,630 million tonnes in 2024, an increase of 87%. India has also climbed in terms of its world ranking in shipments, from No. 44 in 2014 to No. 22 in 2023. Concurrently, the turnaround time (TRT) at major ports—the time that ships spend at port—has declined significantly from 94 hours in 2013-14 to 48.06 hours in 2023–24. Average berth-day production has gone up by 52% and India is also seeing increased tourism through cruise terminals and lighthouse sites. Also Read: India could learn much from the complaints of its trade partners These reforms can be said to represent a paradigm shift. India is slowly putting in place the logistical framework necessary to support its dream of becoming an export-led economy. Continued and deepened, these reforms could bridge the gap between India's expansive trade aspirations and the harsh realities of trading on the international stage, thus making India not just a significant exporter but a truly competitive one. These are the author's personal views. The author is a research associate, NCAER, New Delhi.
Indian Express
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Daily subject-wise quiz : International Relations MCQs on operation carried out by the Indian Government to rescue Indian students, Baja Peninsula and more (Week 115)
UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative of subject-wise quizzes. These quizzes are designed to help you revise some of the most important topics from the static part of the syllabus. Attempt today's subject quiz on International Relations to check your progress. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for June 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at The Strait of Hormuz connects the: (a) Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman (b) Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (c) Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea (d) Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea Explanation — Iran's Supreme National Security Council will determine whether to close the Strait of Hormuz after the country's parliament approved the move, according to Reuters, citing Iran's public broadcaster Press TV. — The shutdown of the strait, a critical waterway for global oil and gas shipments, is not yet final. Approximately 20% of the world's oil and gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz. — The Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran, connects the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea. Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer. Consider the following statements: 1. This country is strategically located on the Adriatic Sea coastline. 2. It acts as a significant gateway to Europe and offers India a crucial opportunity to engage with the continent. 3. This country has various ports like Rijeka, Split and Ploče. The above mentioned statements refer to: (a) Hungary (b) Serbia (c) Slovenia (d) Croatia Explanation — Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his final visit to Croatia as part of a three-nation tour that also included Cyprus and Canada. This is the Prime Minister's first international tour since Operation Sindoor, and the first time an Indian Prime Minister has visited Croatia. About Croatia — Croatia, which is strategically placed on the Adriatic Sea coastline and serves as a vital gateway to Europe, provides India with an important opportunity to engage with the continent. — Croatia's ports at Rijeka, Split, and Ploče are strategically located along vital European transportation corridors, including the projected Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). — Croatia's geographic location makes it a possible node in the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which intends to boost Indian trade with Europe via the Mediterranean. The extension of IMEC to the Adriatic will connect India with Central and Eastern European states that are also members of the Three Sea Initiative (3SI), a north-south trade and energy cooperation axis of 12 countries (including Croatia). Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer. The 'Baja Peninsula' was in the news. It is part of: (a) United States (b) Canada (c) Mexico (d) Russia Explanation — This month, towns around the United States have seen enormous anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests in response to the Trump administration's sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration, which critics claim targets Hispanics in particular. — These protests began on June 6 in Los Angeles, following military-style ICE raids that resulted in the incarceration of 44 persons, the majority of whom are of Mexican descent. California, specifically the city of Los Angeles, has been the epicentre of these protests. — The Spanish colonisation of the New World began in the late 15th century and lasted until the end of the nineteenth century. At its apex, Spanish territory in the Americas reached as far north as Alaska and south as Tierra del Fuego in South America. — The southern point of the Baja peninsula (now the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur) was discovered by Conquistadors in the 16th century. — The geography of Mexico's Baja California peninsula is dominated by rugged mountains that drop off to the south. The mountains are an extension of California's Coast Range. The dried-up remains of the Colorado River Delta sit west of the Altar Desert, along the border of Baja and mainland Mexico. Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer. The Indian Government evacuated 110 students to Armenia from Tehran due to Israel-Iran conflict under: (a) Operation Ganga (b) Operation Devi Shakti (c) Operation All Out (d) Operation Sindhu Explanation — In a big relief to Indian students, the first flight transporting 110 students evacuated to Armenia from Tehran owing to the Israel-Iran crisis landed in Delhi. — Due to the increased tensions between Israel and Iran, Indian students were relocated from Tehran, and 110 of them crossed the border into Armenia through preparations made by the Indian embassy under 'Operation Sindhu'. Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer. What is the correct chronological order of the following countries in terms of the number of nuclear warheads, as per the latest Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) yearbook? 1. China 2. India 3. Pakistan Select the correct answer using the codes given below: (a) 2—1—3 (b) 1—2—3 (c) 1—3—2 (d) 3—1—2 Explanation — According to the most recent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) yearbook, India has more nuclear weapons than Pakistan, despite the fact that China has more than three times as many. — According to the SIPRI yearbook 2025, India has 180 nuclear storage weapons as of January 2025, with Pakistan having an estimated 170. As of January 2025, China has 600 nuclear warheads, 24 of which were deployed, either on missiles or on bases with operational forces. — According to the SIPRI research, Russia and the United States have the greatest military stockpiles among the nine nuclear forces, with 5,459 and 5,177, respectively, including retired warheads. Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer. Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 114) Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 115) Daily subject-wise quiz — Science and Technology (Week 115) Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 115) Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment and Geography (Week 115) Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 114) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
