New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron today agreed the two countries should work more closely on building the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEEC).
The IMEEC is an important project as it passes through Marseille in the Mediterranean Sea.
Marseille, where PM Modi went today to pay homage to Indian soldiers who died fighting alongside their French counterparts in World War I, occupies a strategic space in the Mediterranean Sea.
It is at the crossroads of global shipping routes and positioned as the natural gateway to southern Europe.
The city’s importance is such that PM Modi and Mr Macron inaugurated an Indian consulate in this port city. The prime minister said this consulate will serve as an important bridge, strengthening cultural, economic and people-to-people connections between India and France.
A fully operational IMEEC will improve India’s maritime security and ensure faster movement of goods between Europe and Asia. The IMEEC was launched during India’s G20 presidency.
Some analysts see it as one of the countermeasures against China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a massive infrastructure project that is a central pillar of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bid to expand his country’s clout overseas.
Western critics accuse China of using the BRI to enmesh developing nations in unsustainable debt to exert diplomatic leverage over them or even seize their assets. Many countries have withdrawn from the BRI.
The IMEEC aims to integrate India, Europe, and the Middle-East through UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and the European Union.
India and Mediterranean countries have a huge common interest in the shipping sector, whether in ship building, ownership, maritime sector or in the cruise business.
India sees a huge opportunity in developing ports and has doubled its port capacity in the last decade.
The IMEEC will have two separate corridors – the east corridor connecting India to the Gulf, and the northern corridor connecting the Gulf to Europe. The corridor intends to enhance connectivity, increase efficiency, reduce costs, secure regional supply chains, increase trade accessibility, generate jobs and lower greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in a transformative integration of Asia, Europe and Middle East
The implementation of the IMEEC involves multiple stakeholders and is at an initial stage, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told parliament in a written reply in August 2024.
The IMEEC seeks to mobilize $600 billion by 2027 to address infrastructure gaps in partner countries. The memorandum of understanding on IMECC outlines political commitments from the participants and does not establish legal rights or obligations.
After the France visit, PM Modi departed for the US, where he will hold talks with US President Donald Trump.
