India hosts meet of IMEC special envoys to add meat to mega initiative

India is hosting a meet of envoys from several countries including the US, UAE, France, and Italy this week to push forward a mega rail and ports connectivity initiative, dubbed as a rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The meeting comes despite the current difficult phase in New Delhi's ties with Washington and ongoing uncertainty in West Asia.The two-day meeting of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which began on Tuesday, is being organised by India’s National Security Council Secretariat, it is learnt.IMEC has eight core stakeholders—India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, US, and the European Union, and joined by Jordan, Israel and Greece. Egypt and Oman with their strategic locations can also play a role in the functioning of the IMEC that was announced in New Delhi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in 2023.Italy, France, and Greece have positioned their ports as entry points of IMEC into Europe.Piyush Goyal, commerce and industry minister, had told a high-level roundtable a few months ago that the IMEC is a powerful endorsement of the leadership and partnership of India and Middle East and East Europe. At the time, the minister said IMEC was not merely a trade route, but a modern-day Silk Route, a partnership of equals, which fosters synergy, connectivity, and inclusive prosperity.“It will bring down logistics costs by up to 30%, reduce transportation time by 40%, and create seamless trade linkages across continents,” he said. “We will not only be linking trade; we will be linking civilisations and cultures—from Southeast Asia to the Gulf, from the Middle East to Central Europe.”According to Shishir Priyadarshi, president, Chintan Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, IMEC is 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 pointed out.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 world’s 4th largest economy. The project is also seen as a natural progression to bring Israel closer to the West Asian region after the signing of Abraham Accords in September 2020.Growing close ties between India and West Asia, and India and Israel, coupled with the smart business opportunities that are likely to get unlocked by a direct connectivity to Europe is another vital 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.