Prime Minister Modi Signs India – Middle East – Europe Corridor Agreement in UAE

The project of the intercontinental transportation corridor, which will connect India with the Arabian Peninsula and then reach Italy and other European countries via Israel and the Mediterranean, is entering the phase of practical implementation. The agreement on a new transport corridor, designed to link rail lines and sea routes from India to Europe via the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel to facilitate and speed up transit of goods, was signed on Tuesday, February 13, by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to the United Arab Emirates.

Agreements reached in September 2023 on the sidelines of the G20 in New Delhi, where leaders from India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the European Union, with the support of the USA, unveiled a new transportation infrastructure project to connect India, the Middle East, and Europe (IMEC). While this is an unprecedented opportunity for New Delhi’s economy to have unrestricted access to markets in the Middle East, Africa, and especially the Old Continent, EU and US involvement in the project is primarily driven by the policy aimed at “containing the growing influence of China,” which in 2013 proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), also known as the New Silk Road.

According to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in addition to the economic and commercial component, the implementation of the maxi-infrastructure project “will help achieve a stable and lasting peace in the Middle East.” As the famous 19th century French economist Frederic Bastiat said, “when goods do not cross borders, armies will.” In recent years, India has been very active in developing political, economic, trade, as well as military-technical relations with both Arab countries and the Jewish state, to which the New Delhi government is reportedly selling deadly Hermes 900 combat drones. On February 7, Indian TV channel TV9 Hindi reported that drones manufactured in the Indian city of Hyderabad by the joint venture Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India Ltd. “will help meet the needs of the Israeli armed forces in the war against Hamas.”