On 9 September, on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ meeting in New Delhi (see separate news item), several major powers, including the EU, launched the “India - Middle East - Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)”, or “Spice Route”, to increase trade flows between these three regions. The signatories of the memorandum of understanding establishing this partnership are: the EU, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, France, India and Italy. They are committed to “working together” to establish this corridor.
It is intended to strengthen connectivity and economic integration between these three areas, thanks in particular to two separate corridors. One will link India to the Arabian Gulf, and the other will continue the route to Europe. This includes a railway to complement sea and road transport, and thereby providing a means of bypassing the sometimes problematic Suez Canal.
The participants also want to develop electricity cables along this route, as well as a gas pipeline to export green hydrogen.
The underlying aim is also to counter China’s ‘New Silk Road’. According to the participants in the initiative, this corridor will enable better integration between Asia, Europe and the Middle East, in particular by increasing transport efficiency and reducing costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
See the memorandum of understanding: https://aeur.eu/f/8i0 (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)