New York/Washington, Apr 18: Taking note of the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor, a US-Italy joint statement on Friday termed it as one of the “greatest economic integration and connectivity projects of this century” that will connect partners and stimulate economic development and integration from India onward to the United States.
The United States–Italy Joint Leaders’ Statement was issued after US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s first official meeting in Washington, DC.
“The US and Italy will work together to develop the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), one of the greatest economic integration and connectivity projects of this century, connecting partners by ports, railways, and undersea cables and stimulating economic development and integration from India, to the Gulf to Israel, to Italy, and onward to the United States,” the joint statement issued Friday said.
The two leaders, during their meeting on Thursday, confirmed their resolve to promote a mutually beneficial relationship and further strengthen the US-Italy strategic alliance across security, economic, and technological issues.
The IMEC is noted under the ‘US–Italy Cooperation for Shared Prosperity’ in the joint statement where US and Italy “agree to work to ensure that trade between the United States and Europe is mutually beneficial, fair, and reciprocal.”
Earlier this year, the United States-India Joint Leaders’ Statement, issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington in February this year also noted that the “leaders resolved to increase cooperation, enhance diplomatic consultations, and increase tangible collaboration with partners in the Middle East.
“They highlighted the importance of investing in critical infrastructure and economic corridors to advance peace and security in the region. The leaders plan to convene partners from the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor and the I2U2 Group within the next six months in order to announce new initiatives in 2025,” it said.
The heads of government of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United States convened the first leaders’ summit on July 14, 2022 to establish the I2U2 Group.
The leaders of India, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UAE and US announced an MOU on September 9, 2023 — on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit — committing to work together to develop a new India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). The IMEC will comprise two separate corridors, the east corridor connecting India to the Gulf and northern corridor connecting Gulf to Europe.
“The corridor will provide reliable and cost-effective cross-border ship to rail transit networks to supplement existing maritime routes. It intends to increase efficiency, reduce costs, secure regional supply chains, increase trade accessibility, enhance economic cooperation, generate jobs and lower greenhouse gas emission, resulting in a transformative integration of Asia, Europe and the Middle East (West Asia),” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told the Rajya Sabha in February 2024.
The IMEC corridor, which aims at integration of Asia, Europe and the Middle East involves multiple stakeholders, the MEA reply said.
On Wednesday, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal while addressing the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) High-Level Roundtable on Connectivity and Economic Growth in New Delhi said that the IMEC is not merely a trade route, but a modern-day Silk Route — a partnership of equals — that fosters synergy, connectivity, and inclusive prosperity.
“It will bring down logistics costs by up to 30 per cent, reduce transportation time by 40 per cent, and create seamless trade linkages across continents,” Goyal said, according to an official release from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. “We will not only be linking trade; we will be linking civilizations and cultures — from Southeast Asia to the Gulf, from the Middle East to Central Europe.” (PTI)
