The G7 nations committed to promote concrete infrastructure initiatives such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) in the G7 Summit Communique issued at the end of the three-day G7 Summit.
G7 Endorses IMEC, India’s Ambitious Answer To China’s BRI
The G7 nations committed to promote concrete infrastructure initiatives such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) in the G7 Summit Communique issued at the end of the three-day G7 Summit. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor envisages a vast road, railroad and shipping network among Saudi Arabia, India, the United States and Europe to ensure integration among Asia, the Middle East and the West.
The IMEC project, which bore seeds in discussions as early as May 2023, is envisaged to revolutionize connectivity, bypassing the existing roadblocks in India-Pakistan relations and facilitating rail connectivity between Europe and the Persian Gulf states, possibly extending to Israel in the future.
The IMEC is also seen as an initiative by like-minded nations to gain strategic influence in the face of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has faced increasing criticism over lack of transparency and disregard for sovereignty of the nations.
The BRI is a mega connectivity project that connects China with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe. The IMEC initiative was firmed up on the sidelines of the G20 Summit hosted by India in Delhi last year.
The theme of this year’s summit, which attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of the Republic of Turkiye, as a special guest, has been set as “rules-based international system”.
