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.