Sushma Ramachandran

Trade and defence deals were the overarching themes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discussions with leaders during his recent visit to the  U.S. and France. However, one key issue that was on the table during these interactions and was probably overlooked by analysts in popular discourse while examining the ramifications of these high-level meetings is the resurgence of interest in the ambitious India-Middle East - Europe Corridor (IMEC).

The project has now been given a fresh impetus with both U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron outlining plans for implementing it as soon as possible.

The east-west corridor scheme had been pushed to the back burner after the eruption of the Gaza conflict. Its revival is significant as it has rightly been viewed as a competitor to China’s high-profile Belt and Road Initiative and could well end up overshadowing the latter. Not only are the U.S., France, and India set on going ahead with it now, but other leading economies like Italy and the UAE are equally enthusiastic. 

It will be recalled that India announced the launch of IMEC with much fanfare at the summit concluding its year-long presidency of the G20 in September  2023. The plans immediately ran into a roadblock with the start of the Israel-Palestine war in the following month. As a result, the only forward movement so far on the proposed east-west corridor has been the conclusion of a framework agreement between India and the UAE. This is a wide-ranging one envisaging the development of a logistics platform, including a digital ecosystem and provision of supply chain services to handle all types of general cargo, bulk, containers, and liquid bulk moving through the corridor.

The goal of IMEC is to create a fresh trade route between India and Europe going through the Middle East without accessing the Suez Canal. The plan is to make port and railway infrastructure for seamless movement of cargo avoiding the

risk of disruption by regional conflicts. The railway and maritime corridor will pass through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel.

The eastern segment will connect India to the Persian Gulf and the northern corridor will link the Gulf to Europe. A memorandum of understanding on the project has been signed by India, the U.S., the UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, and the European Union. The declared objectives are to enhance connectivity, secure regional supply chains, reduce costs, generate jobs, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Development of infrastructure for the corridor has not made headway as yet largely due to the depredations of the Houthis on merchant shipping in the Red Sea region. However, these supply disruptions have only served to enhance recognition of the need for IMEC. The urgency of developing a safe and secure transportation route has become even greater in the wake of these geopolitical tensions. This route is required for the free flow of goods from India to the Middle East and Europe and vice versa.

The corridor was high on the agenda during talks between Modi and Macron with a trip to Marseille becoming an occasion for the host to highlight the port’s potential of becoming the gateway for trade from IMEC to enter the European Union. Which port will play this role has yet to be decided, however, as Italy has positioned Trieste to become the European entry point. There are bound to be some tough negotiations on this score. For India, the all-weather port of Vadhavan in Maharashtra has been slated to be the take-off point of the corridor.

France’s interest in the project is evident as Macron has described it as a “fabulous catalyst” for “concrete projects and investments” while making sure that Modi attended a presentation on the issue by a French shipping and logistics firm. Macron appointed a special IMEC envoy last year to shape the project and French involvement in it. On similar lines, Italy is now planning to appoint an IMEC envoy to deepen its engagement with the scheme.

The fact that the Trump administration is also on board is heartening and reflects continuity with the previous Biden regime which had originally taken the lead in pushing the initiative. What is interesting is that the progress of IMEC has been linked with the I2U2 group, also called the West Asian Quad. It reflects deepening collaboration between India and the U.S. on strategic issues, especially in regions infested with conflicts and tensions. The joint statement issued at the end of the Modi-Trump meeting equates IMEC and the I2U2, a grouping of India, Israel, the UAE, and the U.S. The plan is to convene partners from IMEC and the I2U2 group within the next six months to announce new initiatives.

This not only augurs well for the project, but it's also likely to ruffle China’s feathers at a time when it is seeking to prop up BRI as an infrastructure and logistics project that can link Europe and Asia. What is even more important is that IMEC can emerge as a risk-proof route for global supply chains crisscrossing from India and Europe.

Undoubtedly, the initiative will face many challenges. One is finance, given that so far fund commitments have not been adequate for the task. It will also need multilayered collaboration among the many countries involved in developing infrastructure for the corridor. The factors in its favour, however, are much weightier. These include the determination of nearly all countries involved in the scheme to implement the path breaking venture.

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It must be recognized that such an east-west transit route is the need of the hour. As soon as it is created, international trade flows are likely to grow faster than had been envisaged till now. This in turn would lead to greater economic prosperity in the long run for both developed and developing countries. For all these reasons, one must hope that IMEC becomes a reality sooner rather than later.