Editorial: Boost for regional connectivity

The IME Corridor marks major breakthrough in India’s efforts for deeper connectivity with the world

The announcement of an ambitious multimodal infrastructure project to connect India with Europe via West Asia must be seen not just as an effective counter to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative but also as a bold move to chart a new course in the changing world. The unveiling of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, marks a major breakthrough in India’s efforts for deeper connectivity with the world. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Governments of India, the US, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, the UAE, France, Germany and Italy to establish IMEC is truly a historic moment as it helps strengthen the country’s role as a key driver in shaping regional connectivity. Drawing its strength from the strategic and economic synergies of the participating nations, the mega project is being envisioned as a network of transport corridors, including railway lines and sea lanes, that is expected to aid economic growth through integration between Asia, the Arabian Gulf and Europe. The corridor will include a rail link as well as an electricity cable, a hydrogen pipeline and a high-speed data cable. The ambitious initiative has multiple advantages. It would increase prosperity among the countries involved through an increased flow of energy and digital communications. The project would help deal with the lack of infrastructure needed for growth in lower- and middle-income nations. It involves the building of a railway line across the Arabian Peninsula through the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and developing shipping connectivity to India and Europe on either end of this corridor.

The corridor signals several new geopolitical trends. The key among them is that it breaks Pakistan’s veto over India’s overland connectivity to the West. Since the 1990s, New Delhi has sought various trans-regional connectivity projects with Pakistan. But Islamabad was adamant in its refusal to let India gain access to land-locked Afghanistan and Central Asia. The project will deepen India’s strategic engagement with the Arabian peninsula. The NDA government, which had significantly elevated political and strategic links with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in the last few years, now has an opportunity to build enduring connectivity between India and Saudi Arabia. There is also an expectation in the US and western countries that this project can bring down the political temperature in the Arabian peninsula by promoting intra-regional connectivity. The importance of Saudi Arabia in India’s strategic outreach in the region was once again highlighted when, soon after the announcement of the IMEC, both countries signed eight agreements to boost cooperation in areas ranging from energy to interconnectivity, digitalisation and electronic manufacturing to finance and security. Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trading partner and both countries have defence, security and counter-terror cooperation.

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