'We'll be consulting and taking it forward': Sitharaman on India-Middle East Corridor amid Gaza war

Union Finance Minister Sitharaman, addressing a press conference after budget presentation today, acknowledged that there is significant disturbance in the Middle East and consultations will be held with partner countries to take forward India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC). In her budget speech, she recalled Prime Minister's statement that history will remember that this economic corridor, which will become the basis for world trade for a hundred years, was initiated on Indian soil.

New Delhi : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, addressing a press conference after presenting budget in Parliament, said that the the India-Middle East-Europe Connectivity Corridor (IMEEC) had long-term economic implications for the entire region and that consultations will be held with partner countries to take forward regardless of the disturbance in the Middle East.

When asked about the impact of Gaza war on the IMEEC, Sitharaman said, "It has been announced we are taking it forward. Yes there is significant disturbance in the Middle East area but this is a project which has long term implications for the entire region up to Europe because it also included Europe. We will be consulting and taking it forward in all its contours,"

Earlier, the FM mentioned the IMEEC project in her budget presentation speech in the Parliament on Thursday, describing the "recently announced IMEEC Economic Corridor will be a strategic and economic game changer for India and others". She recalled the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said that the corridor “will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come, and history will remember that this corridor was initiated on Indian soil”.

Sitharaman raised the IMEEC project while talking about the global context, when, geopolitically, global affairs are becoming more complex and challenging with wars and conflicts. "Globalization is being redefined with reshoring and friend-shoring, disruption and fragmentation of supply chains, and competition for critical minerals and technologies. A new world order is emerging after the Covid pandemic," she said.

The Finance Minister said that India assumed G20 Presidency during very difficult times for the world. "The global economy was going through high inflation, high interest rates, low growth, very high public debt, low trade growth, and climate challenges. The pandemic had led to a crisis of food, fertilizer, fuel and finances for the world, while India successfully navigated its way. The country showed the way forward and built consensus on solutions for those global problems," she said.

The IMEEC Economic Corridor was signed between partner countries at the 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi on September 9-10 during India's G20 Presidency. The members of the IMEEC Corridor include India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, European Union, France, Germany, Italy and the US. The multi-modal economic corridor encompasses development of shipping, roadways, railways, high-speed data cables, electricity cables and a hydrogen pipeline.

Over the past few months, she has been talking about "promising prospects" of the IMEC Corridor, which is aimed at revolutionising transportation sector by cutting down logistic expenses and boosting mutual economic activities between stakeholder countries.

The Middle East Corridor project is expected to augment job creation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project came up for wide discussion at the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue 2023 held in November in New Delhi. The IMEC corridor involves development of two corridors connecting the Gulf to India and Europe to the Gulf.

The flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian war in Gaza Strip into a regional confrontation in the Middle East poses some challenges to the IMEC Corridor. However, the members countries look at this corridor's huge potential to foster trade by economically linking up South Asia, West Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

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