India, Mideast, EU transport corridor unveiled at G20

Leaders of the US, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the EU have agreed to work together to establish a multinational rail and shipping corridor connecting south Asia to the Middle East and Europe. The initiative, announced on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi on 9 September, could act as a counter to China's growing influence across the energy-rich Middle East.

The India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is "expected to stimulate economic development through enhanced connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Arabian Gulf and Europe", according to a statement from the White House. It will comprise an eastern corridor linking India to the Mideast Gulf and a northern corridor connecting the Mideast Gulf to Europe, the statement added.

The plan is to connect countries in the Mideast Gulf to Jordan and Israel by rail, and to India and eastern Europe through shipping lanes. Its aim is to facilitate faster transit of goods and commodities, to develop energy infrastructure and to enable the production and transport of green hydrogen to all partner countries.

US president Joe Biden described the project as "a game-changing regional investment" that will lead to a "more stable, more prosperous and integrated Middle East". Biden thanked UAE president Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan for his role in pushing the IMEC project. "I don't think we'd be here without you," Biden said. A well-placed Washington source confirmed to Argus that the UAE was behind the idea and had raised it with the Biden administration at the beginning of the year.

While no timeline for completion was given, US special presidential co-ordinator for global infrastructure and energy security Amos Hochstein said countries would meet in the next 60 days to discuss implementation. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the project will increase the speed of trade between India and Europe by 40pc. Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it "an unprecedented international project", realizing "a multi-year vision that will change the face of the Middle East".

The announcement of the deal comes weeks after the Brics group of nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — invited six other countries to become members including Opec producers Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE. In the past few years, Washington's traditional Arab partners Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been forging closer economic and trade ties with China, the world's second largest crude consumer. The US aims to woo its allies back through a set of projects and initiatives. China's president Xi Jinping was absent from this year's G20 summit for the first time since he took power.

By Bachar Halabi